Met By Chance
by I'mJustMe.DealWithIt
Summary: After Angel  the book . Angel manages to escape from the place she had been kept, only to find... she had grown- PHYSICALLY. An 'unfortunate' teenage boy gets swept into the whole mess. Max and Fang's flock unite. The ultimate evil... finally revealed?
1. Prologue

**Okay, so this is only the prologue- which means that a chapter would be at least three times longer than this lawl... You can skip this if you want, but I'd recommend reading it through, just so that you don't get confused later in the story**

**Enjoy~**

_**Prologue**_

Hey, I guess I should introduce myself first, like, before I get skewered by wolf-hybrids or fall to my death in case Angel drops me while we're flying (unfortunately, I'm not joking).

My name's Harou Darien, and as you can probably guess, I'm half American and half Korean- surprised I have a proper name and family unlike Angel? Haha. My dad's from California while my mom's from Seoul. My dad had a divorce though, he never talks about his first wife (and I don't know much about it either, since I wasn't born when he was with her). He remarried my mom, who he says he met her during work.

Which leaves me with Tiffany Darien, an obnoxious bit*hy 20 year old NYU student, aka the most annoying person in my life. She's fully American (and she never, ever, EVER treats me as a younger brother- more like a slave), and constantly calls me 'asian' or 'dork' or sometimes both. The only good thing about her? She had to move out since she was going to New York University, and when she was moving out, I managed to move out WITH her, after promising to study hard and telling- coughlyingcough- her how the schools in NYC was so much better than the ones in California (I don't hate my mom, not really, but my mom isn't the coolest parent on earth, I mean, honestly, a six o'clock curfew? For a sophomore? Jesus Christ).

Dad couldn't accompany us due to his work, and my mom decided that my dad needed more of her attention than moi (haha I felt sorry for my dad).

So basically, I was living with my sister (who always comes home after 12) in a small apartment. In other words, I was virtually living all by myself= EPIC WIN FOR MOI. At least, that's what I thought until a certain someone body slammed me into a bush, got nearly beaten to death and other countless ABNORMAL experiences that would take ages to explain.

Oh and I nearly forgot, about how-

The world I once knew was shattered to tiny little pieces.


	2. Chapter 1

Chapter 1

HAROU

The night was pretty quiet, a crescent moon shining dimly through the darkness. I checked my watch, 11:20. I guess I really did push myself too hard this time. I yawned, holstering the gym sack over my right shoulder. Basketball was one the one sport I really enjoyed, I was practicing with some friends to tryout for the school varsity team. I quickened my pace. As long as I manage to slip in before Tiffany comes home, I was safe. I checked the time again. 11:30. Guess I'll have to take the shortcut.

The shortcut, was across this small park which took like 10 minutes, and along a pretty narrow alleyway (cough, and over a small wall, cough), but it was the quickest way to get to our apartment on foot. I drove myself, even though my legs were aching from running around the basketball court so much.

The park was empty, just like whenever I finished ball practice. But the reason why I didn't enjoy taking this shortcut was because the park was nearly pitch black. There weren't many lampposts, and the majority of the ones still standing were all broken down so all they did was cast long, eerie shadows stretching across the silent grass fields. But I wasn't so much of a coward to be afraid of the dark, it was just a little uncomfortable sometimes. Nevertheless, my pace automatically quickened as I entered the worn out park. I mentally scolded myself, I went through this route plenty of times, no need to piss my pants.

And of course, that's when the mystery blonde came smashing into me out of nowhere into the nearest bush.

OOF! I fell back on my back, the soft grass quietening my fall. Wow, the girl must've been running pretty fast to send me tumbling like that. "what-?" she suddenly slapped a hand over my mouth, the moon reflecting her terrified wide blue eyes. "Don't think you can hide from us sweetie." the guttural grunt was more animalistic than human, it sent a violent shiver down my spine. My own eyes widened.

The sound of sniffling ensued, and I realized, with horror, the girl had began to cry into my shoulder. Oh my lord.

"Aha!" a sudden hand roughly grabbed my neck all of a sudden, and with a pathetic yelp, I was sent flying, literally in to the hard pavement walk. What the hell? I'm not fat, but I'm not exactly skinny either, did that bastard just fling me like I weighed nothing? "what the-?" "boss, this one's a human." a vicious growl drowned all the other voices. "kill him, we got what we wanted in the first place." he held up his mottled- my eyes nearly popped out of their sockets- paws, holding up the struggling petite girl almost as if she was a prize. Her tear stained face was as vivid as the moon itself, and I found myself more angry than afraid at these beasts. "yo bro, I think you should put down the girl."... At least that's what I wanted to say, sadly, I was still gasping for air from being smashed to the ground.

"Let go of me you-stupid-Eraser!" the girl kneed her captor in the groins on her third struggle, which was pretty damn impressive, and sent the dude sprawling (I guessed it was a dude since he literally screamed in agony). The girl lashed out, her long and rather bare legs moving furiously as they hit one target after another. I gulped. Wow. Did she take martial arts or something? I managed to get into a sitting position, and watched how she took out one gangster by one.

It was down to a three against one now, but unfortunately, the girl didn't look so good. She was limping, a dark liquid running down one of her legs- I feared it was blood. The three ran at her simultaneously. She slammed a fist at one of the guy's nose, and with a solid SMACK, sent him knocked out cold. She managed to dodge the second blow, but she yelped as her wounded leg gave way and she fell on her back- completely defenseless. It was more than enough for the two guys to turn the table. They began to kick her senseless, one of them even mounting on top of her, landing punch after punch. The sickening sound of blood splattering sent a jolt through my body, and without thinking, I charged.

Now, I'm not dumb, I took 5 AP classes, including AP Calculus, and had a 4.1 GPA, but I should have figured these guys weren't your usual junior vs senior fights I sometimes saw during school days, they were lethal, the simple throw should have told me that, but at the time, the unimaginable amount of violence just sort of made me do it. It made me feel like as if I should act rather than run away from the scene, I mean, if the girl could take out 4 of those wimps, I could probably take out two right?

I was dead wrong. Emphasis on DEAD.

With the element of surprise I managed to tackle the guy kicking at her to the floor, but even while we tumbled down, the freaking maniac managed to land a blow on my ribs, snarling furiously. He tried to push me away, but during my furious struggle, I managed to get a hold of the guy's head and while we fell, I didn't lose my grip. CRUNCH! The stranger roared in pain kicking me away like a rag doll. But he couldn't seem to stand up, his whole body kept shaking and jerking unnaturally, groaning all the while... Then his whole body went limp. My eyes widened. His head had hit a small cement hedge on the park walk, and the small bump was lodged into his head. Gross! I gulped, would I get charged for committing murder for this? I groaned, trying to get up on my feet.

"just who the fu*k do you think you are?" a rough hand grabbed my head and slammed me in to a nearby tree. The whole world began to blur and fade into darkness. I recognized my captor shouting something, and I flinched as he drew a fist to hit me... But the punch never connected. The girl had, miraculously, managed to get behind him, and slapped her both hands across his ears. A small pop told me his eardrums were busted. His eyes rolled in to their sockets as he crumbled to the grass.

I was panting heavily, and could taste the warm blood in my mouth. "are you okay?" the girl limped towards me, her breath shallow and fast. "I've been better." I groaned, reaching for my gym stuff. "got to get out of... Here." and with that she collapsed right into my arms. "whoa! Are you okay? Hey, wake up!" "grrr..." I whirled around, some of the guys were waking up, even the one with his head nearly smashed to bits. Now that was just plain freaky.

I have to admit, I was scared. I was so scared in fact, I didn't even bother to pick up the contents of my bag that had spilled out during the fight, I just slung whatever I had over my shoulder, and began to run as fast as I could.

The chilling night air seemed to pierce through my skin as I sprinted. Turning my head over, I nearly fainted myself. The small group that had attacked us were all up now, and one of them was shouting something at them, pointing in my direction. I gritted my teeth and pushed myself harder. My brief encounter with those... things (there's no way they could be humans- I mean, I literally saw one of the dude's head split in half!) told me, that if they managed to catch up with us, I'd get slaughtered.

I slipped into the dark alleyway which meant that our house was less than 5 minutes away. I could hear the violent shouts of the mob behind me. They were close. I could see the end of the narrow alley, a wall. Of course! I mentally slapped myself for being so stupid. If it was only me, it wouldn't be a problem, but with an unconscious girl on my back, it was nearly impossible for me to climb over. The voices were nearly at the opening of the alley. If they found us here... I shuddered, imagining the front page of the news tomorrow 'a boy and girl found brutally beaten to death, found'. As if I'd let that happen.

"sorry" I whispered, although I doubted she heard me. I threw her as hard as I could, and up she went, over the wall. I just prayed that she didn't break anything. I quickly jumped up, reaching for the top and kicking furiously, I tumbled over, in my haste, I had to land on all my fours to stop myself from flattening the girl. She groaned as I landed on top of her. I tried to hide my embarrassment as I realized my hand was pushing down on her left breast. Ignoring my screaming muscles, I picked her up, and although the voices were far off again, I began to run. Better safe than sorry right?

Only after we were inside our apartment did I let myself relax. I laid her down on the floor and allowed my legs to give in. I went sprawling next to her- not bothering to take my shoes off and panting heavily with my eyes closed. Only after a ten minute rest of breathing did my brain begin to function.

First thing I noticed: my sister wasn't here, because if she were, she'd be screaming her head off how late it was and that she'd most likely call my mom.

Secondly, I realized I brought a girl whom I've never met before into my house. Seeing how my sister was out doing who knows what, we were alone inside an apartment- with no adult supervision. Awkward.

Third, only after I had turned on the lights did I realize that the girl was hurt in several places- whether bleeding freely or coated with bruises and that she was wearing something like a white one piece mixed with those outfits that patients wore in a hospital.

Speaking of hospitals, I should have called the ambulance in the first place- "don't." the girl barely whispered with her eyes still closed. My eyes rounded into the size of a baseball. "sorry?" "don't call anyone... I'll be fine." "but how did- I mean, I didn't say out loud that-" I stopped blubbering, because obviously the girl didn't seem like she'd answer. So this girl could somehow... Know what I'm thinking right now? I rolled my eyes. Coincidence, that's all it was probably...

A sudden wave of fatigue sent me tumbling to my knees again. I needed to sleep, or at least close my eyes... I glanced at the girl sleeping without a care in the world. Dealing with mystery girl had to wait tomorrow. I slowly stood up with the girl again, this time placing her carefully on my bed. Closing the door to my room, I dragged myself to the living room couch- I was asleep before my head touched the cushion.


	3. Chapter 2

_**Sorry for not posting earlier guys... School sucks sometimes :P **_

_**Anyway I noticed how some of the readers added my story to their alert lists (which I'm grateful of- THANK U), but they never left a reviewww (except for RandomPerson- THANKS A LOT :DD) **_

_**So, R&R and I'll be posting chapter 3 tomorrow or the day after (I HAVE 3 DAYS OFF YAAAAAAAY)**_

_**Until then, cya!**_

Chapter 2

ANGEL

The headaches were slowly fading away- thank god, I felt like I could stay like this forever. The soft sheets, cozy pillows were enough to draw a moan of pure happiness from me. But wait... Why am I on a bed? I slowly recalled the events that happened last night.. Bit by bit...

"Get ready to transport subject 7" a voice, an actual human voice, besides the constant jabbering of the robotic-angel-you-are-so-special-voice, ordered. "but ma'am doesn't it need a harness or a cage-?" "not necessary, she's in a deep coma state, now move it." I could have stood up right then and punched the lights out of those two, but I didn't. Instead, I waited, savoring the refreshing sensations of my body. It had been who knows how long since I could actually hear myself breathing, without the pains of a thousand needles piercing all over my body. It was bliss.

So when I noticed that I was in a moving vehicle, I slowly opened my eyes. It was pretty dark, but it was so weird being able to see again after such a long period of time being scooped up in my own body. It looked like the back of a van- I doubted I could open the doors, so instead I decided to spring out and fly as fast as I could as soon as they opened it for me. Now for the most terrifying part. I grimaced, taking a big breath of stale air, I looked down at my own body- bracing myself to see tentacles, claws or whatever those freaks had done to me...

Nothing.

I blinked. That couldn't be true! I knew something was off; the way I had trouble standing up, the way how I felt heavier than before- then it came to me. "I've… grown!" I whispered in awe. Running my hands carefully across my own body, I nearly laughed out loud. This wasn't that bad, not bad at all! I mean, compared to my crazy imagination of what I'd look like when I finally woke up, this was basically nothing!

I just hoped Max would recognize me though... And that she wouldn't get jealous of my huge boobs haha! It sure did look like I was past puberty- I mean, I always wanted to grow up to be curvy but whoa, I must be like 24? 25 maybe? I needed to grab a mirror as soon as I get out of here.

Another thing I noticed: my mind powers were gone. Well, not entirely, I could feel that there were two erasers in the front, but I could only get glimpses of their thoughts, and I couldn't control them like I used to. Huh. Well I never wanted to be a mind-controlling freak in the first place.

Just how long is it going to take for these goons to open the damn door! I mentally groaned. Then an idea came to me. Seeing how I'm an experiment... I had to be important... Sort of. And then I heard one of the Eraser's thoughts 'oh crap gotta go take a piss... Man, but we need to get there asap, ah shi*-' so being the good girl I am, I gave them an excuse to stop: I screamed at the top of my lungs.

I screamed, and it came out more high pitched than I had imagined, I have to say, I was surprised myself. I pretended to scream out in agony, even gving a few hits to the van wall as a more dramatic effect.

"what the fu*k?" "I'll check the perimeter!" the earlier Eraser squeaked as the van swerved sharply to the right and stopped. I could hear the other one franticly trying to open the door. I kept screaming- and just as the door cracked open- I lashed out as hard as I could. The Eraser didn't stand a chance. "ooh that felt so good." I grinned. It was dark, probably midnight or something, and I saw the other Eraser returning from his potty break. I whirled around, and snapped opened my wings- and nearly fainted. The pain was unimaginable, it was like I was back in the school again, I literally screamed unintentionally, this time it was real. I fell, clawing at my back and tears freely flowing down my cheeks. "hey! What the-" the Eraser was nearly on me, and choking back screams of utter agony, I pulled back my wings, and began to half limp/run towards what I thought was a forest- only later did I realize it was a public park.

I was still running, the pain had subsided drastically the moment I pulled my wings in, but there were still occasional spasms of these piercing sensation that made me stop and take deep breaths. There were more Erasers on me- I could hear them; growling and running frantically. I knew I'd get caught unless I do a U&A. What should I do? Do I dare open my wings again? If that wall of pain hits me again, I'd be a sitting duck for them to pick up- wham! "oof!" my momentum was the only thing that saved us. Me and the stranger went tumbling into the bush just as the Erasers ran in to the clearing. And of course, that's when another wave of fresh pain rolled all over my back. I gritted my teeth to stop myself from screaming. The stranger was about to say something, so I slapped his mouth shut. His eyes widened. Then he noticed that I was crying, and was snatched out of the bush just as fast. I heard a loud thump along with the boy's groan. A pair of rough hands grabbedmy neck before I could prepare myself. Damn Erasers and their stupid sense of smell!

After that I remember fighting for my life, if it was Max who was in my place, she'd have sent the eight Erasers running for their sorry hides, but unfortunately I wasn't exactly a good fighter, and soon enough, I was on the ground being kicked and punched at. Pain was almost like second nature to me at that point, but I still couldn't help my vision blurring after one hit after another. I than witnessed the most epic moment of my 7 year old life: a human, an ordinary human, tackled my attacker to the ground. He must've beaten the crap out of the Eraser because the one who had been kicking me quickly went to his companion's aid.

It gave me a moment to gather myself. Do I run? But judging from the pathetic yelps emitting somewhere above me, the boy was probably on the losing side. I groaned, but forced myself to stand up. He was pinned to a tree, a trail of blood running down his cut lips. I slammed the palms of my hand directly over the attacking Eraser's ears. He screamed as his eardrums blew up. "you okay?" I could feel myself passing away, and I was pretty embarrassed at myself because the last thing I thought as the stranger caught me in his warm arms, was that, I could get used to this.

I slowly opened my eyes. The bright rays of sunlight escaped through the curtains. This was definitely not the school. Rolling over, I took a deep, shuddering breath. I was alive. Alive and well actually. Although I was in a complete stranger's house, I felt comfortable. As if I could trust the boy who I don't even know what his name is. Huh. I got up, deciding to check on the boy- he was awfully quiet.

I found a leg sticking out behind the couch- which I figured was the boy's since it had the same gym shorts I saw the boy wearing yesterday. I walked towards him, sheesh, isn't he worried about me like, at all? I stopped dead in my tracks. The boy was drop dead gorgeous. He had long dark brown hair that rested slightly above his eyebrows, his skin was fair and slightly tanned. The black spot right under his right eye was pretty cute too. But he looked like he was knocked out cold... Then I remembered how he fought against TWO erasers at once. I'm an Avian American hybrid so, 2 Erasers would have been easy to handle- but for a normal teenager to stand up to them like that... I couldn't help feeling guilty.

I winced as I noticed his injuries. He had a large gash running horizontally from his left arm to his right hip, while dried blood splattered along the rims of the injury. He wouldn't be wearing that t shirt anymore. He had quite a bruise around his neck, a deep shade of dark purple. Minor cuts and bruises covered his face, arms and legs. I glanced down at my own legs- well, that was the same for me.

I silently thanked the person for his kindness- I couldn't stay, not for his sake. Erasers would be swarming all over us soon enough. I was about to leave right then, but I suddenly felt the urge to reach out with my right hand, almost cautiously cupping the sleeping boy's left cheek gently. His skin was smooth and warm against my fingers, his breath tickling my wrist ever so softly.

The touch was enough to wake him up. "wha-?" he blinked a couple of times as I blinked myself. What on earth did I just do? Realization hit me like a splash of cold water. Did I just... Caress him? Eew! I was only seven! This was something Max and Fang would do, rather than a seven year old leader wannabe.

"...?" he raised a brow- realization slowly dawning on his face, he shot into a sitting position, alarmed "... Hi." I said abruptly. AWKWARD. "oh- er- yeah, hi.." did I mention how awkward it was? "I was just-" I started, trying to come up with an appropriate excuse for what I just did when- "whoa! Wait- what time is it?" he suddenly blurted out, eyes widening in panic. "er... 7:42?" I answered after a quick look at the clock behind him. "oh my lord." he jumped out of the couch, literally running/limping for the bathroom. I stood there, quite still, wondering what had just happened.

A quiet smile played on the corners of my lips. Believe it or not, I somehow felt I could trust him... For once, after I was separated from Max, I felt safe.


	4. Chapter 3

**_*Dramatic/heavenly/happy sigh* People, I luv u guys (and girls) for adding my story to your alert lists and favorite stories list 3 _**

**_But again, I received 0 reviews :( Reviews doesn't have to be long, just a "ooh I like your story cuz..." or "maybe u could change this..." or even "LIKE 3"... Just FYI ;)_**

**_Enjoy~_**

Chapter 3

HAROU

I somehow managed to run in to the bathroom, splashing my face with what I thought was warm water- WRONG. It was ice cold. "AARGH!" well that certainly woke me up. I managed to brush my teeth and comb my hair at the same time- well, sort of at least. I wished I had enough time to actually ASK what the girl was doing before I woke up- but I had to go to school in 18 minutes. It was going to be a close one... If I even made it that is.

I rushed outside, water dripping down on my front from my hair. The girl was nowhere to be seen. I shrugged, guess she left I. Wait- I didn't have time to shrug! I didn't even have time to dry my hair! Instead I quickly ran in to my room, pulling out a pair of dark blue jeans and a random gray t shirt. All the flurry of moving around had my body screaming with pain from yesterday's wounds, not to mention despair, as I realized my favourite basketball shirt had a gaping hole in the center. I groaned. The shirt was from a friend of mine. Grabbing my school back pack and my iPhone, I jumped outside the apartment- perfectly slamming into mystery girl.

Oof! We fell forward together, me landing on top of her. EMBARRASSING MUCH? "ow- get off!" she complained, her face turning red. I somehow knew my face was even a deeper shade of red than hers. "sorry." I apologized, quickly helping her up. "why are you in such a hurry?" was she honestly asking me that? "school... Duh?" her jaw dropped open. "seriously? You were nearly beaten to death... And you're afraid you'll be late for school?" "well.. Yeah." I said stupidly, trying to get past her. But everytime I tried to swerve around her, she'd move in my way. WTF? "do you mind?" I snapped in annoyance. Surprisingly, she smiled, as if an idea came to her mind. "can I come with you?" the fuc*? This day just keeps getting better and better. "no?" I gritted my teeth as she kept blocking my way. Man, she was pretty damn fast for a beaten up chick. "well, I'm not moving till you say so." she said with a smirk. "shove off will you?" I finally broke, ignoring her and just pushed her out of the way.

And I was suddenly in midair.

WHAM! My back slammed into the pavement, colors flashing before my eyes. I spluttered, gasping for air. "that wasn't very nice you know." she pouted, half amused half worried. "..." I was honestly freaked out by that point. "well? Can I tag along?" "..." I did not know what to say.

"Harou? What the hell are you doing on the floor?" God, kill me now. I mentally face palmed myself as my sister towered over me. Dark circles clinging below her eyes like a vampire... And the suspicious smell of alcohol stinging my nose. "and who's the girl?" "no one." I lied. "yeah right-" she stopped, eyes widening. You didn't bring her over to our house!" "no-" "oh my gosh I am so telling on mom- did you two use protection? No weird stuff like-" she trailed off, listing every single embarrassing possibility. I nearly began to cry right there. "Tiffany for the last time, we did NOT have sex!" I groaned as I stood up, my face as red as a tomato. "like hell you didn't-" "actually, I'm just a classmate of his, I came here to walk to school together." Mystery girl was pretty darn good at lying, well, better than me at least. "ooooh!" Tifany began to giggle like a maniac. "a girlfriend huh?" the only thing that stopped myself from jumping off the 17th floor building was the fact that I was attending a Paramore concert next week. "haha no, I doubt Harou would be generous enough to accept me." mystery girl laughed, and guess what? She knew MY NAME. How? I had no idea.

Even my sister seemed completely shocked at the innocent tone of the sweet angelic girl in front of her. "oh... Okay." she blinked. "y-yeah.." I trailed off, a thousand questions running through my mind. "well... I have better things to do than talk to you dork." she returned to her usual self, and slammed the door behind us. Leaving us two in the corridor.

"... Can I come with you now?" I sighed. "sure. Whatever." she beamed, and I just realized- she had changed clothes, and the clothes looked awfully familiar... "wait, are those MY clothes?" I pointed to her midnight blue skinny jeans and a gray paramore hoodie. "yup." she chirped, as if it was completely normal for her to change into MY clothes. "I- you-" I spluttered. "you know what, forget it. This is so messed up I can't even say anything." I sighed as she laughed. "well, at least I got you out of trouble." she pointed out inside the elevator. "gee thanks, now care to explain yourself?" I asked as we got out of the elevator and headed towards my school. I was so late it wasn't even funny.

"explain what?" she lied innocently. "I don't know, maybe something like... HOW YOU KNOW MY NAME?" "easy, I heard you thinking 'Harou Darien, what the hell have you gotten into now'." "..." "next?" she smiled, as if enjoying my face contort from annoyed to complete confusion. "you read my mind." she nodded, as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. "but I can't read EVERYTHING on your mind- just some parts." "..." "next?" she grinned. I totally gave up. Either this girl was flipping nuts, or I was having the most vivid, craziest dream I've ever had. "what's your name?" she thought about it. I mean, COME ON, who has to think to answer a question like that? "Angel." she whispered quietly. Looking around as if expecting someone to come attacking us. Like yesterday. "Angel?" "Yup!" "last name?" she had to think about that one as well. "Ride." she finally said. "..." "are you done with your questions?" "your name is Angel Ride. You can read minds of other people, pillar drive a guy without breaking a sweat, and you just stole my favorite hoodie." "pretty much." "..." "can I ask YOU something?" "like?" "how old are you?" "sixteen... You?" I just realized she looked like she might be a junior, or a senior- maybe she was one of those total a-hole seniors that pulled pranks on all the freshman and sophomores. "S-sixteen." she stuttered, and my faint hope of some ordinariness went out the window. "cool." I managed to say. I glanced at my wrist watch.

8:30. I sighed. So much for catching the school bus.

"thanks." Angel said after a few minutes of walking in silence. "for what?" "everything... I'd probably be dead if it weren't for you." "no problem." I shrugged. She kept staring at me, as if there was something on my face. I squirmed uncomfortably. "Angel, are you sure you want to just... Barge in to our school?" "well, why not?" "don't you like, have your own school to go to?" "not really." "What? Where do you live then?" I asked in exasperation. "..." it was the first time she didn't answer me back. "oh..." to my dismay, she began to look like as if she'd cry her eyes out. "Hey! It's okay, I'm not going to turn you over to the police or anything." I tried to cheer her up. But tears began to fall.

And then out of nowhere, she flung her arms around me, and began to sob tearfully into my shoulder... I couldn't help but feel sorry for the girl... I didn't even know what her problem was, but I could feel that she had gone through some serious stuff, the way she cried... I've never seen anyone cry like that.

I sort of put my arms around her, awkwardly returning the hug. "it's okay Angel." I comforted her. "I'm sorry for being so rude earlier." I added. I noticed how everyone passing by the park was staring at us. I bit my lip. Oh crap, if my mom gets a whiff of this- I'd be dead for sure. I couldn't just ditch her though, I needed to find something to cheer her up, and fast.

"Angel.." I called her name softly. "it doesn't matter if you don't have a home, you can always come to ours- I mean, that's what friends are for right?" wow that was corny. Super hand-curdling-corny. But she finally looked up, and the way she looked- all teary eyed and lips wavering, she looked like a 7 year old. "really? You think of me... As a friend?" "well, I guess... We're not exactly strangers are we? We went through a life or death experience, successfully thwarted my evil sister-" she giggled, causing me to break a smile of my own. "and since you seem to trust me, it's only natural I trust you." she nodded. "I do." I felt squirmy again. This kind of conversation wasn't exactly my forte.

But after that conversation, Angel looked a lot more cheerful than before, maybe that was all she needed; a friend who she could actually depend on. It made me glad I could help her, but sort of uncomfortable as well- I wasn't really the 'popular' guy at school... It made me feel like I was betraying her or something.

I sighed as we nearly reached the school gates. This morning had been one hell of a ride. I glanced at Angel skipping in happiness. Then silently thought to myself; 'but maybe it was worth it.'


	5. Chapter 4

_**Omg guys, I'm so sorry for all of you who complained about me not updating earlier :( school these days are pretty much filled with hw and projects and stuff, so I can't update as often as I'd like to... Again, I deeply apologize for the long wait :(**_

_**The good news on the other hand, is that WINTER BREAK startes the 16th. Meaning that I will have TONS of time to update *fist pumps the air joyously*. But again, for the first week of the holidays, I might be travelling (not sure yet- but most likely), but after that I have nothing else to do YAAAAAYYY!**_

_**And thanks to all those who added me to their alert/fav lists, and OF COURSE, to those who have reviewed (-u guys are epic 3)**_

_**Again, I'm really sorry for the long wait but I hope you enjoy the chapter**_

_**Cheers~**_

* * *

><p>Chapter 4<p>

HAROU

... Or not. I mean, we managed to get in okay... At least Angel did (don't ask me how, she just asked the teacher and voila, she's suddenly enrolled- weird much?), but I wasn't so lucky- got myself a detention. Oh well, whatever.

After Angel introduced herself as a new student AND an old friend of mine (which was obviously made up), we were able to sink quietly in to the very back of the class.

"Hey Harou." A boy with light brown hair and square glasses greeted me as I sat down next to him. "Hey Andrew." I said as I sat down next to him, Angel taking the spot next to me. Awkward silence ensued (well, apart from our bio teacher rambling on about cell structure- but that doesn't count). "So... You two have known each other since..?" "er..." I exchanged looks with Angel. What was I supposed to say? "since first grade till 8, we were pretty close." she said rather defensively. "oh that's cool." I mentally groaned. Maybe it was me, but I thought she was pushing it way much. I mean, from 1st grade to 8? That's like SEVEN years... More like, 7 hours. "how come you never told me you had such a hot girlfriend?" Andrew grinned shyly, winking at Angel. I nearly choked on air (hard thing to do by the way). "she's not my girlfriend, we're just..." again with the stupid stuttering. I so hate myself. "friends, close friends." Angel's face was burning red. But why was mine a shade of crimson as well? "haha you love birds-" "Mr. Evergreen, do you have a comment?" "no sir." Andrew quickly replied, his ears turning red, earning snickers from the desk in front of us.

"what's this supposed to be- the loser threesome squad?" Daniel, the school's quarterback snickered. I sighed; mentally asking to whatever god existed, why such a sorry excuse of a person was created. Man I hated this guy. Andrew just laughed nervously- he knew what happened the last time when Daniel and I had a 'conversation'. I remembered too (and I didn't want to repeat such experience ever again), so I tried to ignore him, but it looked like Angel had other ideas.

"Well what if we are?" Angel demanded rather childishly. I had to stop myself from banging my head on the table. Did she even know what 'loser' meant? Or the word 'threesome'? Sheesh.

Andrew's face reddened instantly, while Daniel and his jockeys bursted out laughing their heads off. "what's so funny?" Mr. Mason snapped, slamming his white board marker onto his desk. "Daniel, Eva, Lucy, Luke- detention!" but of course the trio ignored him completely. "haha oh my gosh, did she just admit she's a loser?" Eva, Daniel's girlfriend doubled over laughing. Lucy and Daniel were literally crying from laughter. Luke was a little more sensible though; he just shook his head in dismay, a smirk but nothing more giving him away. After the teacher gave up fuming, he just returned to teaching whatever was left of the class.

Which was actually, none.

"yo Daniel what's so funny?" a boy asked. "This girl just said she had a threesome with these two losers." more laughter. Andrew literally had his head down on the desk, while Angel was just plain confused. Me? I was trying everything I could to hold back my shaking fists. I had already received a warning from the principal the last time I fought Daniel- now don't get me wrong, I rarely resort to violence, but Daniel was just fuc*ing impossible.

"shut up Daniel." I know it wasn't the best comeback, but it was all I could do to prevent my fist knocking his lights out. "ooh that was so cold bro, you know I'm joking right?" he smirked. "Whatever." I growled through gritted teeth. "c'mon Darien" he never could pronounce my first name. "we're pals remember?" his jockeys sniggered. "g-get lost." Andrew muttered- and I was sorry to say- it sounded pitiful, even for me.

"what was that shrimp? You say something?" "I-I told you to s-shut up!" he said a little louder. "well i dont wanna, so what you gonna do about it?" more jeering. Andrew dropped his head even lower.

And that sent me over the edge.

I lashed out, grabbing the front of his uniform. "shut your mouth and turn the fuck around." Daniel didn't even blink, his smirk only growing wider. "or else what? We both know what happened last time." "yeah; I pounded you to a pulp." I snarled. The others exchanged nervous glances. Truth was, I got my butt kicked that time. BADLY. As in, I-was-bleeding-around-the-whole-place-badly. "Harou calm down-" Andrew tried to stop us but Daniel was on a roll. "oh yeah? I don't recall you being so brave when I punched you till you were vomiting blood." he taunted. I knew he wanted me to make the first throw- that way he'd be able to beat me up and still not get in trouble, just like last time. I took a deep breath. But before I could retort, someone smacked my hands away. "you wanna settle this, meet him behind the school at 3." Luke said sternly. Daniel seemed content with the idea as he gave one last smirk as the bell rang, and walked out of the class with his 'gang'.

"... Sorry." Andrew apologized. "why are you apologizing?" I rolled my eyes. "I shouldn't have said anything.." "no, for once you stood up for yourself, that was great Drew- it's that jerk who should be apologizing." "but you're not going to go fight him right?" "of course not." I clenched my sweaty hands. To be honest, I was sort of scared of the 6"2-buff-as-hell-quarterback. I wasn't stupid enough to run after him looking for a fight.

"you're not?" I looked around, facing the perplexed blonde. "well… yeah" "why not?" "cuz he'd make mincemeat out of me." I didn't want to admit I had nearly been expelled because of fighting the principal's son (aka Daniel- yeah, I know it sucks). "but that's so chickening out!" Angel protested.

I laughed. "haha you've got some bal- I mean, guts Angel." "I'm serious here." She stomped her foot to prove her point. I just shook my head. "nah, to be honest, I'm sort of on... Probation." I admitted, embarrassed. "what's probation?" she asked. "it means he's very close to getting expelled, obvious much?" Andrew rolled his eyes as we packed our bags. "well if you guys are too scared, I'm going alone." at this, Andrew began to laugh nervously, not knowing how to respond. But I have to say I was impressed. Well... What she just said sort of made sense; seeing how she completely owned those six guys yesterday- I'd say she was more than strong enough to win.

But that doesn't mean it didn't hurt my pride

.  
>"whatever, come on I have English next." I shrugged. "Oh I have PE next, see you at lunch" I muttered a goodbye to Andrew as he headed for PE.<p>

Okay, so far Angel seemed to suck hardcore at every single subject (and no, I wasn't judging her by AP standards or anything- I'm not THAT much of a nerd). She didn't know how to graph a direct variation in AP Calculus, didn't know what a cell wall was, in Bio and didn't know who Shakespeare was in English… Holy crap?

"wait, so Shakespeare is a writer?" Angel asked me again as we headed for the cafeteria. "well... Yeah. I mean, haven't you ever heard of him? He IS pretty famous." "and why do we need to learn about him again?" she scowled. "er... Cuz he's like, one of the most well known and talented poet slash author in literature history?" "…so?" I sighed. "never mind, I don't like him either." "and what was all that about the graphing-" Angel carried on and on and on- EVEN when we were eating with Andrew.

Apart from the incident in the morning, rest of school was pretty much okay. Angel had a talent in drawing and painting class (which I seriously needed some tips on), and seemed to enjoy her stay. Often making me laugh whenever she asked some sort of obvious/weird question about school.

I wasn't laughing AT her of course, it was just, sometimes she'd sound like a seven year old- she was just... Different. Different, but she also made me feel cheerful whenever she was around- I could be myself when I was with her, comfortable and relaxed…Wait, ew, that sounds corny- forget I just said that.

And then it was the last period of the day; PE class.

We were playing a friendly game of baseball (emphasis on FRIENDLY), but I had to say, Angel was AMAZING. Every time she swung the bat she would hit the ball square on, and her running speed was just like- BAM! *coach whistle* Safe!

What was even more epic, was that Daniel's team was for once, on the losing side.

Daniel was absolutely fuming, furiously shouting at his teammates for no reason- he even got OUT when Angel caught the ball in midair- EPIC moment indeed.

It was Angel's turn to bat again, and she readied herself, a confident smile lit her face as Daniel gritted his teeth- preparing to pitch.

ANGEL

School was quite fun… That was probably an understatement. It was a LOT of fun. It was even better than that time when Max took the flock to school for a couple of months while Anne took care of us- everyone was so nice to me- well, except for that snuck up kid called Daniel and his pals. But they weren't enough to ruin my day- Harou was exceptionally kind, he'd go out of his way to explain things to me, which I knew would have been pretty tough for him (since I barely remembered anything from my last trip to a 'normal' school- and that was when I was in elementary school… Wait, technically I still should be, but since I lied to Harou that I was sixteen in the first place for no reason, I was attending a high school… Does that make sense?)

I shook my head, clearing my thoughts. Baseball now, thinking about stuff later.

The pitcher was no other than that idiot, Daniel. I was going to put some extra force behind my swing. I was glad to see he was frowning in annoyance. Haha not so cocky now are you? You stuck-up, Max-would-so-kill-this-guy-in-an-instant-brat.

He suddenly threw the ball with… a smile? And with lightning fast speed (for a human that is) and I swung madly, unprepared for such a ferocious pitch. But I knew something was wrong. The ball was aimed too inward and too high; it was fast, but far from its target.

Then I realized in that horrifying split second, that the target was me.

I tried to jump out of the way, but time seemed to slow down as my body barely budged, the ball was just about to smash me in the middle of my eyes- I braced myself for the impact, when suddenly; I was on the ground, flat on my back.

I blinked. Wha-? I gasped. "Daniel you… bastar-" Harou swore weakly between his panting. "Harou!" I reached out for him just in time as he fell forward, clutching his head with his right hand, blood trickling down like a crimson waterfall.


	6. Chapter 5

_**Okay guys I know I haven't updated in a while (but it wasn't not THAT long, I mean, 6 days without an update isn't that bad- considering I AM a high school student and school takes most of my time :P), but don't you think 0 reviews for my latest chapter was a little harsh? :'( *Insert sad sigh* **_

_**Again, thanks to all of you who added me to their fav/story alert lists, and I think someone even added me to their fav author list (- HUGE Thanks), but really, I would LOVE reviews for my future updates _**(because, srsly, reviews are nearly the only reason I try to update so hard- I even think of plot ideas in class! cough*not because I hate math class*cough)**_.**_

_**Oh and of course, enjoy :) **_

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><p>Chapter 5<p>

HAROU

Ugh... I SO didn't want to open my eyes. I felt like just staying there till this stupid, head-splitting headache goes away. But at the same time I knew there must be people who were worried about me. Mentally sighing, I slowly opened my eyes. My head was throbbing as if it would explode or something. "Harou?" a terrified whisper called out my name. "yeah?" I groaned, my eyes trying to adjust to the light. "are you okay?" whoever this person was, I could tell she was pretty worried about me. I had to squint through the sudden light- the blurry shapes of the room came into focus. "I've been better" I replied weakly. I could finally make out the shape of the person talking. And I had to say, I was surprised.

"T-Tiffany?" I choked, surprised beyond words. "thank god you remember me." she let out a sigh of relief. I had to roll my eyes. "you thought I'd get amnesia from getting hit by a ball?" "shut up Harou, you have no idea how worried I was!" she suddenly wrapped her arms around me. "Sis-?" "I'm so glad you're okay" whoa whoa whoa! My sister saying she's glad to see I'm okay? Am I missing something here? I was shocked to find her face wet from tears, I didn't know Tiffany cared for me so much... "I-I'm fine Tiffany, really, I'm okay." "I know, I know." she sobbed. "but I just feel guilty, you know how I've been for the last... Three years." my mind reeled back, now that I thought of it... She was right.

Before Tiffany was in high school, we used to get fine, she'd take care of me- I was proud that she was my sister, and loved her too. But slowly, she began to change; she began to neglect me as her brother, calling me names and hitting me for no reason...

"it's all my fault." she continued to sob. "if I hadn't been such a bitch towards you-" "what, the ball wouldn't have hit me? Come on sis, it's not like you to mope around." I tried to make her feel better. Remembering all those times she'd comfort me when I was a kid. She shook her head. "truth is... I was going through a lot, I still do, but I realized... I haven't been aware of all the precious things I had at the moment." "Tiffany..." I didn't know what to say with all the emotion turmoil inside. "I had to work my ass off to go to a decent college, and then my boyfriend would ask, I mean, force me to do stuff I didn't want to do, and then there were all my problems with my other friends; I'd blame everything on you Harou, I'm so sorry." "whoa- wait, what was that part with your boyfriend harassing you?" my eyes widened. I never knew my sister had a boyfriend, let alone, an abusive one- our mom would go insane if she found out if either of use were dating. She shook her head. "we began to go out since high school, but he dumped me yesterday.. after I refused to... Have sex with him." "WHAT?" she lowered her gaze, embarrassed "I-I know, that's why I said 'no' okay? I know how I've been acting lately... Can you forgive me Harou?" I blinked. Was this for real? My own eyes began to tear up.

"of course." I pulled my own arms around her. "I missed you sis." I sobbed, forgotten emotions, experiences, memories- all flowing back as I embraced my sister; someone who was always there for me, someone who I respected even when she would insult me- someone who I knew I could trust.

We stayed like that for a while, embracing each other in silence, crying quietly. But they were tears of happiness. And I knew, that I would cherish this moment for the rest of my life.

ANGEL

I felt my own eyes sting as I peeped through the door. I wanted Max to be here with me more than ever. "I wish I had such a caring sister." I thought glumly. I felt guilty, as if I was interrupting something private, so I quietly closed the door back again, and decided to wait outside.

Hearing the two's conversation made me feel squirmy inside. It was a mixture of guilt and longing. I wanted to have my family, the flock, and my brother, Gazzy, to be here with me. I slumped down on the bench, my mind wandering.

Back when the Eraser's attacked me- if I wasn't so helpless, I wouldn't have run into Harou. He wouldn't have been caught up in all this. He wouldn't have been nearly beaten to death, he wouldn't have had that argument with Daniel, and he wouldn't be lying in that hospital bed because someone tried to knock me out with a baseball. A lone teardrop fell.

I quickly wiped it away in habit, remembering how Max told me crying was for losers. But what about Harou and his sister Max, how come they're allowed to cry, laugh, do whatever they want, and I can't? Is it that wrong if I wish to be normal for once? Even if it is just temporary?

I found myself crying helplessly into my hands. My entire body shaking. I sobbed for what seemed like hours, and nobody was there to comfort me... No Max, no Gazzy, no flock. Nobody. Harou had his friends, his family- his sister, who cared for him. Who did I have? A fake made up family who believed I was dead. Who probably thought of me not existing anymore.

It wasn't like I haven't experienced something worse than this before; it was just too hard, knowing I had nobody who cared for me if anything happened. I wasn't normal; I wasn't supposed to exist in the first place. My wings seemed to grow heavier by the second as I cried quietly. All alone, by myself.

"Angel." I looked up, a boy with long dark brown hair with his right part of his head covered in bandages was smiling at me. "it's okay, I'm fine, see? Don't blame yourself." he sat down next to me, wiping the tears from my eyes. "it's not like I died you know." his fingers were gentle and soothing- the way he smiled, the way he reassured me... In that moment, I could imagine a normal-boy-with-no-wings-version of Max. She'd look probably something like Harou. I began to feel better. "there, that's better." he withdrew his hands, grinning slightly. "did you honestly think I'd die or something? Sheesh, give me some credit- it would take more than a baseball to take me out." I gave him a small smile. "say that to your head, stupid." he laughed quietly. "haha good point. Hey, do you know how long I was out?" "about... 7 hours." he groaned. "why?" I asked, curious. "I missed the fight with Daniel. It was supposed to happen at 3 remember?" my eyes widened. "in that condition, you're thinking about fighting?" he gave me another of his small grin. "yeah, cuz if I didn't- that'd be chickening out right?" I rolled my eyes, but smiled "thanks." I said quietly. "for what?" it was his turn for his eyes to widen. "for pushing me out of the way." "ah well... To be honest, it happened by accident, I didn't mean to push you- I was only going to warn you, but I slipped and knocked you over instead." he scratched his head, shrugging as if he didn't care. I knew he was lying. He literally sprinted and slammed me out of the way just before the ball came into contact, but I didn't say anything. "and besides, that's what friends are for right?" again, I didn't say anything. I couldn't. My voice was clogged up with emotion as he rolled his eyes at me because my eyes were about to cry again. I sat where I was, not saying anything.

Because I was grateful, thankful, that someone so sincere and kind considered me as their friend.

"come on, I could use some fresh air." he stood up, stretching his arms like nothing had happened. This time, it was me who smiled at him. He grinned back casually like one would to a friend.

HAROU

The day had been so packed with events that I didn't even know today was Friday.

The doctor said it wasn't anything serious, but he did add that I had been very lucky that the impact didn't damage the brain- but he told me that if I should develop headaches, depression, or even short term memory- I should come back asap. But at least he let me out the first day, otherwise my mom would have been worried out of her wits.

Tiffany's confession was probably the most shocking event of the day. But I was glad that she told me all those stuff. She also told me that she'd try to come home as soon as possible, but said that she had some work to do back at school, so she left before I found Angel, who was quietly crying all by herself on the bench outside my room when I found her. I think she had other matters as well, but I didn't want her to feel bad; blaming herself and all that, and I was thankful that she gradually agreed that it wasn't her fault, although I was sure that she had other stuff that concerned her in mind.

But right now, we were just walking back to my house quietly. I wasn't sure where Angel was going though.

"umm... Harou?" "yeah Angel?" "is it okay... If I spend the night at your place?" she asked carefully. "oh! Er..." uh oh. How was I suppose to answer to that? I mean, I kind of guessed she might not have a place to stay, but I didn't know she'd ask me so directly! I'd love to say yes, but what would my sister think when she comes home early? Would she be mad? Angry enough to tell on our mom? If she did, i'd get busted for sure. I glanced at Angel's eyes filled with hope and trust. How am I supposed to say no to that? "s-sure.." "thanks." she let out a sigh of relief. "I was afraid you'd say no.." "well... Why?" "I-I don't really have a place to stay you see." she dropped her head, embarrassed. "oh.." silence. "y-yeah." she said awkwardly. I didn't press the subject. I mean honestly, who would?

*****MEANWHILE*****

"let me get this straight. You lost the experiment, and you're saying everything's going to be fine?" the tone in which this was conveyed carried a false set of merriness, hiding the malicious intentions inside. "y-yes, because you see, my comrades have already found where she's staying at-" the Eraser stuttered in it's fear of losing it's life. "and you haven't retrieved her back. Why is that?" "I-I was just asking permission to do so-" the professor sighed. "Then do so as quickly as you and your 'comrades' can, for without her the operation cannot proceed to the next level." "u-understood!" "oh and one more thing." the Eraser looked up. "you are dismissed." the Eraser sighed a sigh of relief as he began to turn around to exit the dark laboratory. "as in, eternally, forevermore dismissed." the professor added, and without any emotion- he ordered his greatest creation of all- to exterminate the lowlife that was in front of him.

The Eraser didn't even have a chance to yelp as its body was torn evenly into two, perfect, horizontal parts.

"I will be the one to lead this mission." the madness was inevitable in his eyes as they glinted red in the darkness. The professor smirked at the pool of blood lying at his feet. "I really should replace the whole lot of them; I mean really, Erasers? What are they going to erase- pencil marks?" the Creation of the professor agreed as it quickly took care of it's most recent slay.

"Operation Archangel has just begun."


	7. Chapter 6

_**And... I'm back! Missed me much? ;) haha anyways here's a chapter like I promised and expect more very soon cuz I still have an ENTIRE WEEK LEFT of my winter break- YES! *fist pumps like a maniac***_

_**So enjoy the chapter and please reviewww**_

_**Oh and of course, MERRY CHRISTMAS everyone, have a great one 3**_

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><p>Chapter 6<p>

HAROU

"HAAAARROOOOOUUUUUU!" I shot out of bed, and since I was entangled in my bed sheets, I fell face flat on the floor. A certain 'someone' came barging in my room. And yup, it was my sister, Tiffany.

"hi sis, you called?." I grumbled in to the entangled sheets. "yes I freaking called! What is she-" Tiffany pointed to a certain blonde right behind her. "-doing in my bed?" "I thought you said you were going to change from now on-" her kicks were absorbed by the bedsteads and all, but they still hurt. "okay okay! Sheesh, what's the problem?" "you brought a girl into our house, a high school girl- WHEN I WASN'T HERE?" she nearly blew my eardrums she did. But I guess she actually did have a point.

"Oh... Right.." I trailed off, glimpsing Angel's tomato red face. I was guessing she wasn't going to back me up. I sighed. "Tiffany, me and Angel didn't do anything while you weren't here, honestly. I mean, come on, do you seriously believe I'd do something like that when I have an injury like-" I pointed at my head. "this?" "that's exactly why I think so, the doctor said you might experience some serious personality change-" I groaned. I had forgotten how cautious Tiffany was. "Well, I'm NOT going through any 'personality' change and if and only IF I actually did sleep with her, why would she be sleeping on your bed and not mine?" "..." untangling myself, I stood up yawning. "see?" "alright, I just had to make sure, you know?" she sighed a sigh of relief. "yeah I know." "so then... Why IS she here?"

Oops. "er..." I was NOT a good liar. "It's my fault, I fell asleep after I took Harou home, sorry." Angel quickly apologized. "oh! So you took Harou home did you?" Angel nodded. Tiffany seemed somewhat relieved. Angel always had these kind of effects on people- they kind of believed everything Angel told them... I don't know, maybe it's just that I suck at lying and Angel is the opposite, but... "well... Okay then, you can go back to sleep now." Tiffany said, yawning. "... For real?" I looked out the window, and yes. It was still pitch dark. "gee thanks Tiffany, I'm so sleepy right now I can barely stand." I rolled my eyes. She shrugged "well then do whatever you want, and shouldn't you be going home now? You're parents should be pretty worried... It's like one in the morning!" "oh! Er... Yeah, I guess..." Angel sent me a quick 'what do I do now?' look. I sighed. "I'm going to get some fresh air, good night sis" Tiffany raised a brow, but shrugged. "sure."

"so you really don't have anywhere else to go?" I asked carefully, as we sat down on the stairway. Angel shook her head. "well then... Where were you before... You know.. we met." I knew it didn't mean anything but I couldn't help my face reddening. "W-well-" Apparently Angel took it the same way as I did. Angel took a deep breath.

And then began to say stuff that made me want to laugh my head off, or take her straight to a psychologist. "I'm not exactly... Ordinary." she looked up, as if trying to read my reaction. "I-I was born inside a lab, called the School, and I-I'm... 2 percent avian. I actually escaped from that place, and that's when I jumped into you. I can read minds, breathe underwater, and slightly change my form. But other than that, I'm human." she added quickly, not meeting my gaze.

"..." I sat there, motionless. "y-you don't believe me do you?" Angel's face was all red and teary, the exact kind of facial expression I hate most- but hey, when someone tells you that they were made IN A LABORATORY and that their HALF FREAKING BIRD, you kinda want to scream out WTF (and no, not World Trade Federation)- especially when that someone sounds dead serious and is about to cry.

"well..." I trailed off. "I-I do believe you... Well, no I don't. It sounds seriously far fetched, but if you don't want to tell me stuff you don't need to, you don't have to lie or anything-" Angel wiped the tears. And... Smiled? (WTF time again) "so... You don't think I'm a lunatic?" I shook my head. "thanks." she leaned over quietly, and for a moment, I thought she was going to kiss me- but thankfully she just laid her head on my shoulder. "it's all true though." she whispered quietly. "you saw the Erasers- wolf hybrids- that chased us when we first met." my mind reeled back, and I found I actually did remember freaking out about seeing paws and fangs... But at that time I thought it was my imagination, I was pretty scared back then after all.

"..." it was still hard to believe though. Angel sighed, and gently held my hand. Whoa. Red alert! If Tiffany comes out this instant she'd probably kill me on the spot. "here.." she lifted my right hand up, and- and- AND- "whoawhoawhoawhoawhoawhoawhoa-!" I was blushing like crazy, my face felt like it was on fire, but Angel crossed a finger against her lips, smiling at my reaction. "geez, calm down." she continued to guide my hand beneath her t shirt, her skin was soft and smooth as my fingertips traced over her warm back with Angel's fingers leading mine. I gulped really, really hard. "A-Angel-" I stopped. The smooth, fair skin was suddenly gone and I felt something like... "f-feathers-?" Angel nodded. "I'd show you myself, but my wings hurt... A lot, I think it got hurt somehow during my escape." I blinked several times, my hand trailing up and down somewhere along her shoulder blades, along the trail of... Feathers, that seemed to protrude from her back- "H-Harou-!" Angel's breathing was suddenly rough, and I realized she had let go of my hand. "S-sorry!" I squeaked as I quickly wrenched my hand away. Angel was still panting heavily, her face red and sweaty. Oh god did I just... Turn her on? "I-I'm sorry, I really, honestly, truly, did not mean to do that- I was just-" I began to babble like an idiot until Angel finally came around and silenced me.

With her lips.

My eyes nearly popped out of their sockets. My arms and legs stopped whatever they were doing and just stayed there as if they were made of stone. I could feel her soft lips on top of mine, she was leaning more and more towards me, but I still didn't know how to react-

"ow!" I groaned as my eyes snapped open. I was suddenly at the bottom of the staircase wit Angel on top of me, her lips still pressed into mine. "sorry." she quickly stood up, her face red. "n-n-n-no problem" I said, maybe a little too fast. "I think I leaned in too hard." Angel giggled, her face still red as a tomato. "h-haha?" I tried to laugh, but all that came out was a nervous grunt. She ruffled her head, long strands of blond hair falling over her face. "sorry, I really don't know what came over me-" "it's okay." "..." "... ..." awkward silence. "so, um... Let's just say that never happened?" Angel suggested nervously. "y-yeah." I agreed. "well um... Do you have anything to do tomorrow- I mean, today?" she asked, looking at her feet. "oh- er, yeah, I'm supposed to do this math project with Andrew." "oh... Right.." Angel looked pretty crestfallen. I felt bad for her, but I really wanted to escape this awkward slash embarrassing moment asap. "yeah... Sorry." "then.. I guess it's goodbye" Wait, good...bye? "well, yeah" I said stupidly. Wait, please just one more minute- I just need to-"thanks for everything Harou." "no problem.. A-Angel." she smiled, albeit in a sad manner. "you know, that's the first time you called me by my name." I blushed- don't ask why, cuz I didn't know myself.

She began to walk away in long, slow strides, and just before she was at the very edge- right before the end of my vision- she stopped and turned around. It was too far for me to see anything else, but i could see that she had raised her arm. And with a final wave of goodbye, the avian hybrid, and my first kiss, Angel Ride walked out of my life.

ANGEL

Oh my gosh. What have I just done- I literally told an ordinary human teenage boy, EVERYTHING about me. EVERY SINGLE THING. Not only that, I'm virtually r-raping this guy! I tried to stop, my cheeks flooded with color, but I kept on pressing forward, grasping his neck, back and everything I could touch of him. Yeah. Rape. That's probably what this was.

But it was bliss.

Was this how Max felt every time Fang kissed her? Well, now I could finally understand why Max would always try to get Fang kiss her- it felt amazing beyond words. His eyes were wide open, nearly to the point of bulging, and I could clearly see he was surprised. But his lips were so soft and gentle, I couldn't help but-

And then we were on the ground, with me on top of him. He groaned. I helped him up, finally realizing what I had done just now. I must be the most evil, lustful 7 year old in the entire globe. I was ashamed of myself- what would Max think? Worse, what would GAZZY think of me? I looked at the stuttering, crimson red adolescent in front of me. I shouldn't get him involved in all this, it wasn't right. And yet- "do you have anything to do tomorrow?" the words just spilled out of my mouth before I could stop them. What on earth was I saying? "oh- er, yeah, I'm supposed to do this math project with Andrew" he fidgeted uncomfortably, staring at me like as if he was looking at me properly for the first time, but I couldn't meet his gaze. I had just gone far enough to spend three, three whole days with a stranger rather than go search for my flock... was I really that shallow? A betrayer? yet I couldn't help but feel sadness at his reply. "oh.. right.." "Yeah... sorry.." he meant them, but I could tell he wanted to get the heck out of here right now. I forced my eyes to meet his. Blue met hazel. For a brief moment, I could see clearly all the confusion, doubt, disbelief and... Shock reflected in his eyes- and I knew... that it was time to say goodbye.

But I didn't feel bad even as I walked away after waving goodbye, I understood how he felt, I was a complete stranger who had just forcefully pressed my lips on his and literally pushed him down the stairs. I took in a big breath, the chilly night air piercing my lungs. It was better for him and me to let things turn out this way... So why were tears silently falling from my eyes?

I continued to walk down the road. Alone, nothing but my empty shadow accompanying me.


	8. Chapter 7

**_Happy new years (i know, i know, I'm a little late but better late than never right?:D)! I hope you all celebrated in your own way whether with family, friends or even by yourself. But I have something to ask you guys; do you honestly like Met By Chance?_**

**_Cuz recently for the last, I don't know, 2 weeks? 3? I haven't received any reviews... or adds. I was thinking maybe I was losing my touch (that is, if i had any from the beginning), or maybe it's because I update so irregularly, that you all decided to ditch this? But really, do you honestly think I'd abandon a fic without letting you all know first? :P_**

**_I don't know... Seriously confused here guys. I try to update as fast as possible (because I know, as a reader myself, how annoying it is to wait for the next chapter to come out- cliffhangers :O). but REVIEWS are really a large chunk of my motivation, so PLEASE, if you've read, at least leave a few words just so i know there are readers out there..._**

**_Thanks and I hope you all have a great year :)_**

Chapter 7

HAROU

"hey Harou what's wrong with you? If you don't want to help me just say it." "Sorry, it's nothing." I quickly said, returning back to helping Andrew's Algebra project. "this is like the hundredth time you've zoned out man, are you okay?" Andrew sounded pretty sincere, but I still couldn't tell him what was bothering me. "told you, it's nothing." I reassured him, focusing back on the project... For a guy who took AP Calculus, Algebra should be easy... But the words and numbers just floated around the paper- I couldn't concentrate.

Finally I dropped the pencil, getting up from our desk. "Harou-?" "I need some air, I'll be right back." I said, grabbing my black converse jacket and heading out. "Get me some ice cream while you're at it!" Andrew called as I closed the door behind me. "Harou? Where're you going?" Tiffany asked, her eyes still glued to her favorite tv show. "Andrew wants some ice cream." I shrugged. I had told everyone else that Angel had gone back to her family, in Arizona, and that Angel won't show up at our school... Never again.

It was lunch, but the air was still pretty chilly. The buildings, streets were covered in snow. And I didn't even realize it had been snowing. Huh. I shoved my hands into my pockets, the christmas carols playing in the streets reminded me that today was actually Christmas eve. With each step, my mind replayed the whole scene- a scene that probably won't ever happen again. I felt so stupid. I didn't know why I didn't hold her back, to at least ask her number- well, if she had a phone that is.

I felt like a load of crap. Last night (or morning)'s event had kept me up wide awake, I probably looked like a zombie right now. It was pathetic really, I always thought that all those preppy pop songs about love being painful as a joke... But could I really call this love? We barely met for about three days- and since when had I fallen for her? I could still clearly remember her musical voice, her hair framing her angelic face perfectly, and her... soft wings..

I shook my head, trying to clear my thought. Better get Andrew's ice cream and head back. I seriously felt like committing suicide. If only I had told her how I felt towards her I wouldn't feel so miserable... But what WERE my feelings towards her? This emptiness, something felt amiss, was this a feeling of remorse for losing a lover? A friend? I find it's more closer to the latter, she was someone I could trust and rely on, that much I was certain. But what about the whole kissing episode yesterday? Was that friendship? Or more?

I was so focused on my thoughts, I only realized I had bumped into somebody when I landed on the snow. "sorry" I mumbled, getting up and helping the person to their feet. "i-it's oka-" the blond girl stopped in mid stutter, her crystal blue eyes widening in shock. "H-Harou-?" I blinked, rather stupidly. "h-hey Angel." awkward silence. I felt relieved, even happy, that we had managed to meet again- albeit in a random and rather awkward manner.

She was still wearing my grey Paramore hoodie and had the hoodie covering most of her blond locks. The amount of snow on her head told me that she had been out in the snow for a fair amount of time. I noticed how her petite frame was shivering from the cold, her lips blue and her cheeks pale.

A loud grumble from Angel's stomach broke the silence. What was left of a little colour flooded in her cheeks. "I-I guess your hungry." I said, trying to act normal. "y-yeah.." she glanced at the store she was staring at moments before I knocked her over. It was a McDonald's. She gulped, quickly wiping away the saliva at the corner of her lips. I remembered the stuff she told me yesterday.

"Um... Wanna go in?" I gestured. Her eyes widened, but nodded quickly. As we stepped inside, the smell of french fries and burgers hit us like a train. Angel made this moaning noise of yearning that I found really funny but managed to pass as a cough.

"so what do you want to order?" I asked her. "er..." she glanced at the menu. "three big macs, two chicken burgers, one cheeseburger, cheese sticks, 5 apple pies- oh, and all with extra fries." my jaw nearly dug a hole in the ground. I was going to ask her something like '...are you serious?' but remembered how she was half bird, maybe she needed the extra calories. And then again, she looked like she could use some too. I silently prayed I had enough money to pay for all that.

And that's how each of us ended up carrying a trayful of burgers and fries to our seats. "are you sure you don't want to eat?" Angel asked as we sat down. "nah, I'm not that hungry." I didn't tell her that her meal left my wallet empty. There weren't a lot of people in here, maybe it was because it's Christmas eve or something, but I was pretty sure the store was packed with people when we came in..

In a blink of an eye Angel inhaled a big Mac in no time. With her mouth full of fries, she said "about yesterday, I'm really sorry-" I blinked, confused "sorry for what?" "the whole-" she gulped down her fries with some coke. "um... You know." her cheeks turned red. "oh... But why are you apologizing?" "well, it was pretty out of the blue.." "haha I guess, but you don't need to apologize." I assured her, smiling slightly. "that's a relief-" Angel froze, her eyes bulging, and began to make horrible choking sounds. "Angel-?" I quickly ran to her side. She was coughing violently and spluttering, and with her eyes watering she pointed at her back.

"something stuck?" I asked. She gave something like a nodding (shaking?) motion with her head as her hacking ensued. I was about to hit her back to help her breathe when someone tackled me out of nowhere, the person was so fast, that he/she was a blur. "Oof! Watch where you're going-" WHAM! I went skidding down the floor as that same person decked the right side of my face with the force of a 1.5 truck going at eighty miles per hour. In other words? It hurt pretty much a lot.

I swore violently as I tried to stand, but my legs gave up and I nearly fell face flat on the floor. "remember me punk?" I groaned. In the corner of my eyes, I saw that Angel was now on the ground, still choking on her burger. She was attempting to take it out by hitting her back herself, but it didn't look like it was working. "Angel-" I pointed at the girl, now evidently turning purple, hoping the stranger would see what was happening. "oh ho! So you know her name?" he sneered, grabbing my hair and pulling me up to face him. "well I don't give a fuck whether your girlfriend dies from eating a burger; you see, our orders were clear." and as if in a nightmare, four more- I recalled what Angel called these guys- Erasers, appeared out of the fast food kitchen. The cashier was on the floor, along with everyone else who had gotten in their way; either dead or unconscious. "we grab the girl and anyone who knew her." I finally remembered this guy- he was the one who I had smashed his head in to the ground on the day I met Angel. My eyes widened in fear. "finally remembered me have you." he growled, slugging an awfully strong punch at my stomach. The impact sent me sprawling. I wanted to scream for help, but I couldn't breathe properly, let alone cry out for help. "H-Ha-arou-!" Angel was still struggling for air, clawing at her back while coughing and spluttering. "She'll have to wait till I deal with you buddy." another furious kick slammed me to the wall. A loud crack told me something had broken; either my ribs or the wall. I was guessing it was my ribs.

My vision was already dimming, the corners already fading into darkness. Before I could completely black out though, Angel managed to crawl next to me through her spasms and held my hand. "aww isn't that sweet." the Erasers laughed like the evil lapdogs they were. "don't worry, where you're going, you two will have plenty of time together." a burst of pain from my head, and I was already unconscious, the sound of Erasers cackling as Angel still struggled to breathe.

ANGEL

Maybe this was destined to happen. Maybe we were just... meant to be. At least that's what I was hoping for as I stared at Harou's nervous face. My eyes hungrily feasted on the dark haired teen as my mouth munched on my second cheese burger. Each bite was enough to squeeze out a sigh of pure happiness from me, I mean, there's a reason why I had been staring into a fast food restaurant for over an hour in the freezing snow.

It was as if in a dream, the snow was falling outside. The restaurant quiet and relaxing, and Harou Darien watching me as we sat alone on a table. For the first time since my escape from the School, I could finally, for once, forget about all the worries that had been troubling me. For once I could just lose myself in those warm hazel eyes of his. I didn't really know what we were talking about or about anything else for that matter- except that I was feeling pretty embarrassed about Harou watching me so closely as I devoured a big Mac like a rabid wolf.

"well that's a relief-" and that's when this dream like state shattered like glass. My thoughts sensed danger before my eyes did. Erasers. Since when have they been watching us? Lurking in those shadows? "Angel-?" Apparently one of them had noticed that they were spotted and had jumped out of their hiding place- right behind Harou. 'LOOK OUT!' I wanted to scream out, but all that came out was a pathetic spluttering as a particularly large piece of burger mixed with fries got lodged in my throat.

I don't normally swear, considering I'm barely eight years old, but I sure felt like doing so right now. Harou rushed over to me in a hurry, and that was actually what saved him, in his haste to help me, he dodged a vicious assault by an Eraser- and he didn't even realize what he had just done. The scene would have been pretty funny had I not been choking on my own spit.

I quickly pointed to my back, hoping he'd understand and jump out the window behind me (it wouldn't have been much of a fall since we were on the 1st floor anyway), but Harou took it as a 'help me digest this thing' sign, and began to hit my back with his palm. I wanted to stand up, grab his hand, and run- but all I could do was choke and gasp. I tried to gulp down whatever the stuff was, but it wasn't helping, not by a long shot.

Harou was caught completely unaware, and only when he went sprawling across the floor did I see how much of a trouble we were in.

Five Erasers. I recognized one of them as the leader from that day when Harou and I first met. I wanted to stand up and fight beside him, I was the only one who could- but my body just wouldnt move properly, not to mention i was in some serious pain right now. The world seemed to bend in slowly, as if in a grotesque screen effect and I felt like hurling, except that I couldn't.

I watched helplessly as Harou got beaten to a pulp. Each powerful blow stained the gray/white walls with blood. I finally fell from my chair, both from my urge to save him and from my violent spasms. "Ha-Arou-!" I reached out for his delicate hand just as his eyes fluttered and gave out. "Aww, isn't that cute?" The Eraser mocked in a disgustingly babyish way. I held my own neck, trying to rid of this damn hold-up in my own windpipe.

"Don't worry hon, where we're going, you two will have toms of time together." the Eraser laughed, lodging his foot into my stomach and sending me skidding. I admit, it hurt. A LOT. But it finally made me swallow what was holding me from breathing. I was seriously winded, but I could finally inhale some oxygen, meaning that I was ready to kick some Eraser butt.

I sprang to my feet, spittle and blood spraying everywhere as I leaped towards the closes Eraser. I smashed my elbow into him, causing him to double over instantly, but I realized I was in a worse shape than I had thought. A bright flash of pain from my own chest sent me kneeling, gasping for air. I look down, and find my hoodie (well, actually Harou's, but whatever) blossoming red with blood. "aww, looks like I bwoke some wibs" the Eraser who had kicked me previously towered over me easily, his expression relaxed. "stupid... Eraser-" that was as far as I got as he quickly punched me right between the eyes, a flash of colors, and I was out for the count.

The Eraser stood up, carrying the unconscious and bleeding blond girl in his hands. He grinned in that evil wolfish manner of his. "such language, and they told me you were seven." he casually exited the half destroyed McDonald's, quickly throwing the two experiments in to the back of a pitch black van. The black vehicle sped away just as a policeman entered the fast food store.

The entire place exploded in a shower of flames just as the unfortunate man stepped inside. He didn't even have time to process what had happened. He and all the other evidences of the kidnapping had been incinerated in the blink of an eye...


	9. Chapter 8

_**Hey guys! SO, here's a new chapter for y'all! This must be the most weirdest, longest and HARDEST chapter I've written so far :P so please, enjoy (well, at least try not to get freaked out by the weirdness- cuz i'm the writer and i sort of creeped out o.O) and don't forget to REVIEW!**_

* * *

><p>Chapter 8<p>

HAROU

I groaned. When I tried to force myself up, I realized I couldn't move my hands. I looked down, and voila, I was handcuffed with my arms behind my back. This day just keeps getting better. "Harou?" Angel scurried over, plain worry etched over her caring face. "how're you feeling?" "like crap." I replied. She rolled her eyes. "no duh, I meant like, did you break anything? Can you breathe properly?" I nodded. "thank god." "what about you? You just let them take you?" she laughed. "not really." I followed her gaze to her chest and... "...that doesn't look good." she shrugged. "I can handle it. I've been hurt worse." I struggled to get in a sitting position. This was pretty hard to do since my feet were cuffed together as well.

"so where're they taking us?" a darkness crept over her eyes. "..." she stayed silent, and I was afraid to hear her answer. I gulped. "that bad?" she bit her lip, and after a moment said, "remember I said I was born in a lab?" I nodded carefully. She took a deep breath. "well... My guess is that they want me back." "but what about me?" she looked even more concerned than ever. "the whitecoats are always in need of subjects to experiment on..." she trailed off, her dark words left hanging in the air. I gulped. "well, at least I'll be able to fly myself to anywhere I want then." she looked away, not saying anything. "I'm sorry." "nah, it wasn't your fault." "it was. I knew they were still after me, but-" "hey. Who the heck would have guessed they'd attack us in McDonalds? I mean, it's not exactly the most 'discreet' place around" She didn't pursue the subject, but I could tell she was still blaming herself. "Angel, it's okay, you escaped once right? We'll just do it again." she sighed in exasperation, but looked up smiling. "I guess." smiles must be contagious cuz somehow, just by looking at her quiet smile, made a stupid grin on my own face as well.

Where the heck are they taking us? We've been driving for what seemed like days, and we were still driving non stop. We've tried to catch the Eraser's attentions and ask them a couple of questions, or better yet, to persuade them to stop, but apparently they couldn't hear a thing through their thick skulls.

I sighed. Angel was already passed out, sleeping quietly with her head in my lap. To be honest, when I first heard the stuff Angel told me, I was scared. But now? I'd like to see the 'School' just for a change of scenery.

I wondered what my family would think. I said I'd be gone for a couple of minutes. Not a couple of DAYS. Tiffany would be worried. My mom would be even more worried. My dad is probably completely hysterical by now. I chuckled, remembering the time when my dad thought I'd gotten myself kidnapped when I was 12. I had secretly snuck out to a sleepover at a friend's place, and my dad ended up calling the police. Lol. I mean, I did leave a note saying that I'll be right back by tomorrow morning, but my dad was just that kind of a person.

Thinking about him made me sad. Secretly, I still hoped that the police would somehow find us, and we'd be free. But then again, after how Angel told me she was scooped up in that place for her entire life till now, I doubted that would happen.

Andrew is probably worried sick. I didn't even finish helping him with his Algebra project. He thought I'd gone to buy him some ice cream. I didn't need to think hard to imagine the look on his face when he realizes that I had disappeared from the face of the earth.

I glance back towards Angel's peaceful face, sleeping away like a seven year old kid. I sighed. Might as well as sleep, since there's nothing else to do.

ANGEL

Where was I? This whole place... It looked awfully familiar, the house, the backyard and the friendly looking streets.. "Angel! Come in already, it's getting pretty cold." my eyes widened at the voice of someone I knew. The voice that I had heard as she raised me. "Sweetie? What's wrong?" Max walked towards me, as if nothing was wrong, she kneeled next to me. "don't cry Angel, it's alright." Hot tears were pouring down my cheeks and I hadn't even realized. I'd missed her so much, so so so very much.

I hugged her tightly, Max seemed surprised, but hugged back anyway, her warm cozy arms- the ones that had held me since I was a baby- were so comforting. As if she knew everything that had happened, that I was sorry, that I would never ever disappoint her again.

One by one, the flock emerged from Ella's house, wondering what was going on. "What happened to Angel? Why's she crying?" Gazzy hurried over. My big brother, always so caring for me. I pulled him into a tight embrace as well. I felt like I'd burst with emotions, I was so happy, I was finally back with my family.

Iggy seemed surprised, but joined in the hug circle anyway. Nudge brought Fang over and hugged us all, Fang, albeit in his shy, quiet manner, did his best to wrap his arms around us all. We stayed like that for a few moments, and for once we were back together as a flock, as the family we once were... I was so happy, so content that I wished time would stop like this, the six of us as one like we always have been for the last 7 years

"Angel... Why did you betray us?" an accusing voice shot out throughout the joyful atmosphere. Like a gun shot in a quiet room. I spun around, the entire world spinning as I did so. When I came around, I was facing Max. But this Max was different, she seemed older, more sadder and... More real.

"why?" she said again. Her eyes cold with hurt. "I trusted you, WE trusted you. But because of you, Fang's gone. Ella's gone. My MOM's gone. Why Angel, why?" she took a step forward, and I immediately took a step back. "I'm sorry Max, I-I really am, I just wanted-" "to tear away the flock from me. You were selfish, cruel and evil." withe each word she stepped towards me, and I was crying again. My weak shoulders shaking with sobs. I couldn't say anything, because I knew she was telling the truth. It was all my fault.

"I can't believe you're the same baby that I raised. You're not Angel, I don't know you anymore." Max turned around, her shadow cold and hard. "n-no! Max, I'm sorry, I never meant these things to happen-" "too late Angel." her voice seemed to echo all around as the world suddenly began to darken. The flock began to disappear one by one. Disintegrating into ashes as the wind began to blew harder and harder.

Max pointed to the remains of the rest of the flock, a speck of ash on the street; where we had been hugging each other. "they're dead." my ears didn't believe what they were hearing. "they're dead Angel. Dead, because-" she whirled around, cold fury evident in her face. Her next words were what really got me though.

"because, of you." she finished softly. It wasn't warm and gentle, her tone was one that was accusing and final. I tried to reach towards her, to explain that I didn't mean something like this to happen, but when my hand touched her- she turned to ashes, just like the others.

I was all alone. The air was getting colder by the second, weighing me down as if the very air accused me of being guilty. I couldn't breathe. I was all alone in this world now. Dark, cold and scared. The trees seem to loom over me, their shadows stretching endlessly.

"n-no... Max, Gazzy..." a weak whisper escaped my lips. My hands covering my face. Even my tears were like ice now. "we wanted nothing but your wellbeing Angel." it was Max- no, Gazzy, no- Fang's- no... It was the entire flock, molded into one terrifying voice.

"why did you leave us? Why did you tear us apart? Why, why, WHY?" "NOOOOOOO!" I was screaming, I never knew I could make such a shrill and awful sound, but I kept on screaming, the wretched and anguished sound shattering everything around me. The world began to swirl into a mixture of black and blue, the colors spinning, the image of each flock member slowly disappearing from my memories- I could feel them fading away, slowly, as if to torment me for what I've done.

The pain was not physical, it was from the inside. I wished I was back at the School. I'd rather have my limbs ripped from my body than to experience this. I'd prefer a thousand needles than to see that disappointed, accusing face of Max and the others. I wanted it all to end. Nothing mattered anymore. I want to die. I thought desperately as the darkness closed in around me. Please, just let it all end...

"ANGEL!" My eyes fluttered open as someone slapped me hard on the face. My right cheek burned but I was still numb from cold. "Angel what's the matter?" a face... It was a face of a boy... The image was blurred because of my tears. I wiped them away with shaky hands. They were cold and pale, almost half translucent. "Angel?" it was a voice different from the flock, but one that I recognized. "Harou." I croaked, my voice was hoarse from all the screaming. "d-did you see-?" I sobbed into his chest. "see what?" he asked, alarmed. "the flock, they said, max said, that i-it was b-because of m-m-me." i didn't know what I was saying anymore. It was more of a hysterical bunch of mingled sounds than legible words "shh, it's okay Angel. Everything's alright now." he held my shaking body. His skin was warm to the touch, and I had to stay like that for what seemed like an hour; mumbling stuff and then suddenly breaking out crying. Everytime I did, Harou would coax me to calm down and take a deep breath. He'd comfort me with his soft, warm voice. "It's okay Angel." he said. "Everything's fine now." he would say... But yet, how could he say such words when he saw them? My very own family, the very people that I could depend on even if the world was against me, were dead. Because of me. Because of who I've become. Because of what I am. It was all my fault.

"Angel." he said quietly. I couldn't say anything, my voice had completely gone from all the sobbing. "are you okay now?" again, I couldn't reply. "it was all a dream." my eyes blinked. Once, then twice. "Max, Gazzy, the flock, they're not dead. It was all a stupid dream Angel." he said carefully, looking straight into my eyes. "and whatever happened definitely wasn't your fault." my breathing finally slowed down. Wait... I never told Harou about the Flock, so how did he know those names?

"you talk in your sleep." he smiled weakly, reading my confusion. "I... Was... Sleeping?" I croaked, the three words were enough to send my throat burning, but I had to ask. "of course! Remember? We were caught by Erasers at McDonalds? The black van?" I looked around. I sure did remember. But this wasn't a back of a van... It was- "well, I guess we finally arrived.. But when I woke up, I was inside this cell. And you were crying and screaming names and-" he stopped, his face red from embarrassment. He coughed. "well, um... I'm sure you had your reasons." I followed his embarrassed gaze and found... a small puddle of yellowish liquid?. He quickly turned around. Then it hit me. Why the between of my legs felt so damp. And so wet.

Oh my god. D-did I-? Did I just... Wet myself?

Another thing I realized. I was clinging on to him as if my life counted on it. A good portion of his jacket was soaked from me crying like a baby. Wait. If I wetted myself... And I was clinging on to him..

"s-sorry." I croaked, quickly detaching myself from him. "y-yeah.." he stuttered, quickly standing up. Oh god. This must be the most embarrassing moment of my life. Now, and forever. "you have a pretty firm grip." he joked, hoping to take our attention away from... The leak. I was still too petrified with embarrassment to say anything, but I noticed how the shoulders of his jackets were slightly ripped. "d-did I-?" he nodded, laughing nervously. "no big deal. I was going to take it off anyway." he said with forced casualness, and he tried to mop away the coughstuffcough on his pants. "sorry.." "I-it's okay... I guess you had a pretty bad nightmare." I nodded shyly. Still... How could I-? I mean, I stopped wetting beds when I was five, for crying out loud! Now I really wanted to kill myself.

He suddenly threw the jacket on to the small puddle, using his foot clean the mess up. I raised a brow. "what?Its not like I'm ever going to wear this jacket again." he quickly kicked away the soggy clothing as far as possible.

I was still tomato red, but at least the... Liquid... Didn't get on his pants much.

Later that night (or day, whatever, you couldn't really tell the time when you're inside a windowless cell), I realized that through all my embarrassment, I forgot to thank him. I didn't even say a simple 'thanks'. I turned over to face the direction where Harou was sleeping quietly. I knew he probably couldn't hear me, but..

"thanks." I whispered anyway, and then turned around to go back to sleep.

"Ugh! What happened here?" my eyes shot open. That voice belonged to a boy. But it wasn't Harou. But it wasn't unfamiliar either. "I don't know, but keep your voice down! She might wake up." a girl whispered cautiously. I didn't recognize hers, at all.

But if I was correct, the last time when I heard that voice was... "so what's wrong now Omega?" the girl sighed, as if tired of her sensitive friend. I froze. Omega. Of course I remembered him. He was the one who nearly killed Max when we were in Germany! "this place, it smells like, like- urine." oops. The girl sniffed numerous times, only to say. "maybe it's because of your sense of smell, cuz I can't smell anything." phew! Thank you unknown girl, I owe you one- that is, if you're not on the same side as Omega- which you probably is. "ugh. It's disgusting- how can you NOT notice?" Omega whined.

There was something off though. Omega was a cold, emotionless machine back then. Only obeying the Director's every word. Now? He sounded like a whiny, but perfectly human, teenager. How?

Okay, stay calm Angel. Max beat him easily. That is, um... HOW! I FORGOT HOW SHE WON IN THAT STUPID COMPETITION! Something about punching- that much I remember. But... There was something else... Something-

"hey... Is that.. Blood?" "what?" Omega's voice pierced through the quiet cell like a dagger. "yeah... It is!" "b-but that means, there's another experiment here?" the girl stammered, obviously perplexed. Ha! That's right, and if you try anything, we'll- "was. There WAS an experiment here." I froze. What the heck was Omega saying? "if this person lost this much blood..." Omega's voice trailed off. My body seemed to turn into a popsicle. Harou... Wasn't in the cell right now? But.. Then where did he-? "... At least he's in a better place now." the girl's voice sounded like she was about to cry, which was exactly how I felt right now.

"Do you think we should wake her up?" Omega asked quietly. "Yeah, let's hope that this one speaks English." I could hear the sound of Omega leaning over me, reaching out his hand, completely unprepared... I imagined the whole scenario, and prepared my attack. At the exact right moment- I sprang up, quickly lashing out with my right fist with the force of all the frustration and anger of losing Harou behind the single, but deadly, punch. I heard the girl yelp in surprise, and for a split of a split second, I thought I'd hit him.

But actually, Omega had caught it in midair as if it was nothing.

"oh? So you weren't asleep were you" his voice calm and dominant. My eyes grew wide with fear. His deep colorless gray eyes were delving into mine as if trying to remember something. "wait... You-" "Omega, stop! You're scaring her!" he carefully let go of his iron grip, but I could feel the bruise marks already beginning to form on my wrists. I stepped back away from him quickly. He regarded me with the same curiosity as he had when he first saw me. Could it be that... He didn't remember me?

"have we... Met before?" he asked, surprising both me and the girl. I blinked. Then it hit me. Of course. I was a six year old when we were captured in Germany- right now I was approximately eighteen! There's no way even Omega's perfect brain could possibly remember me! Ha! "um... No..?" I carefully said, still preparing to strike back in case he attacked. "oh, okay then. My bad." Omega wouldn't look away though, and I could tell he was still somewhat suspicious. "Omega, how could you have possibly met her? You told me that you were inside the School in Germany for your entire life!" the girl rolled her eyes. "well... Yeah, that's true but.." he trailed off, his eyes furrowing in concentration. "your attack... It's almost like that time in-" "Hey, my name's Claire. Ignore cuz he's a little weird like that. Oh but you should know his name, it's Omega. I know right? Lamest name ever invented. Obviously the person who named him was a math geek." I had to suppress a small grin. This girl reminded me of Nudge, except she was still pretty nothing compared to the Nudge channel.

The thought instantly made me feel sad. I should be out there looking for my flock, what was I Doug getting caught in the first place? "hello? You ARE fluent in English right?" the blond haired girl carefully asked. "yeah..." "oh okay, just checking you know? It's been awhile since we saw an experiment- I mean, someone who could actually speak English." "right." I quickly scanned the cell. They were right. Except for a big puddle of blood, Harou was nowhere to be seen.

"looking for your cellmate?" Omega stepped out from the shadows, his face grim. I nodded. "any chance he's part Asian?" my expression spoke before I could. His face darkened even more than before. "We saw him being transported to somewhere- remember Claire? The guy who kicked the Whitecoat in the groin?" I didn't know if I should laugh or cry. "ohh! Yeah! But he didn't look like he was hurt..." Omega shook his head. "his shirt." "what about it?" "remember what color it was?" "er... Red?" "dark red, I noticed how it was blotchy in places, like as if it was dyed. I think that was actually his blood." they turned around to look at me, who had gone as pale as a ghost. "h-his shirt was g-grey.." I stuttered, just what did they do to him? If he was bleeding so much, why didn't he wake me up?

"sorry." Claire said quietly. I took an involuntary step back. No. Harou wasn't- I refused to believe- that he was, he was- "look on the bright side, he's probably better off than us anyway." Omega suggested. Claire smacked him on the head. "hey!" "you call that comforting? Jesus Christ." "well... Sorry, but I don't think there's any hope for him to come back." another smack. "what now!" "you just shut up. Boys." she added the last word as if it was an insult. But I didn't really care. I'd just slept through while Harou, my friend, the one who had tried to protect me so hard, had taken his last breaths somewhere in a cold dungeon. What have I done?

The two stood there, trying to comfort me, but I wouldn't listen. I couldn't. I just slumped on the spot, gruesome images of Harou being tortured to his death forming in my mind, one horrible method after another.

HAROU

"where's the sleeping drug?" "what? It's used on her you idiot!" "no, you dog head! There were TWO injections-" "which I used on the girl!" "ALL of them?" "duh?" "you-" "shut up! Both of you! We'll just take him quietly-" at this point I was wide awake and had realized what was going on. Not if I can help it. I thought with determination.

I shot up, hoping to surprise them, which I managed to do actually, but my next move was a total failure. I attacked the nearest Eraser to me, launching the hardest punch I could at his wolflike face, but after a mere flinch, he punched me back. Like, 100 times harder.

I think my body flew to the wall from the impact. My head was too dizzy to process anything. This guy was nothing like those Erasers I had fought in the park. This one was a monster. The female Eraser rolled her eyes. "what? He hit me first!" my attacker whined like a baby. Obviously the girl was the leader between the three.

"yeah but can't you see he's still one hundred percent human?" "so?" she sighed. "nevermind, just make sure he doesn't run off while we get him to the lab." okay, maybe my mind was still howling with pain, but I realized why they were in our cell. They had come to get me. There was really one thing I could do, I mean I didn't like it, but really, there was no alternative.

I screamed for Angel to wake up.

The two goons instantly started guffawing. After about five if-I-scream-any-louder-my-lungs-will-burst yells of Angel to wake up, I gave up. Angel must be under the effect of those drugs they were talking about. Crap. "seriously? Did this guy really scream for a chick to save him? Hahaha" my face reddened. "shut up!" "ooh look who's got attitude." they jeered. That was when I noticed that the door was still open behind them. If I could just grab Angel and slip out the door... "well, since you're awake you might as well as get useful and come with us quickly-" that's when my basketball drills came in to use.

I lowered my body, as if the person in front of me was a bball defender and quickly feinted to my left- then just as fast, exploded to my right. The three were way behind me as I grabbed Angel (she was pretty lighter than I had expected). "cya suckers!" I yelled over my shoulder as my right foot stepped over the iron bar gates of freedom- I wasn't a combo guard for nothing! Haha-

SNAP! Angel suddenly dropped like a sack of potatoes. My right arm had gone limp, and then the pain hit me. It was like a train hitting me head first. I couldn't even scream. Then I was flung back like as if I weighed nothing, slammed in to the wall, and slid to the ground, my right shoulder still burning with agony.

One of the boy Erasers smiled, his fangs all bloody and red. "you're pretty fast for human." the other sneered, grabbing the front of my shirt and slamming me into the wall, again. "and pretty tasty too." the one who had chomped off a huge chunk of my shoulder added. I was panting, I still couldn't scream. Blood was flowing down like a waterfall and I couldn't move my right arm at all. "suckers huh?" the girl grinned evilly, stretching out her deadly claws that must've been as long as my pinky finger. "you know what? I think we can have a little snack- don't kill him though, who knows what our sadist professor would do." she shuddered, still advancing at me with her claws. The other two were more than willing to comply.

And soon I was on the ground getting torn to bits and pieces by three hungry wolves. The entire time I was screaming, and only when I was crying like a baby did the girl stop. "had enough punk?" she gestured for her cronies to stop. "ya know, you ARE pretty tasty." she smiled as I winced, still afraid to look down at my chest. "pick him up and let's go. We've wasted enough time as it is."

I was literally dragged through the white corridors like a sack of potatoes. "you know kid, you're not so bad after all." the red haired girl suggested, as we stopped in front of the lab. From just being outside of the crazy asylum, I could feel the madness creeping from it. It made me afraid. VERY afraid.

"maybe I'll let you be my lapdog if you survive the professor's experiments." I did not like how she said experiments- plural, not singular. Nor did I want to be a 'lapdog'. "well, adios kiddo. Nice meeting ya." the guy snickered as he slowly opened the door.

It was dark and creepy, but it wasn't quiet. There were screams everywhere. Blood curdling screams that made my blood chill from just hearing them. The deeper we delved in, I could see more results of the 'experiments' locked in cages. Some had tentacles, some had extra pair of body parts, most of them were unrecognizable as human beings. But all of them had one common feature: they were all gruesome.

That's when I decided, I'd rather die than become something like that. I struggled with whatever strength I had. "haha don't fret kid, it's too late anyways." "who's there?" a woman stepped out from a room carrying an unconscious girl. And just as the door closed behind her, I caught a glimpse of a large splatter of red on the floor. It was fresh blood.

"professor Brigid, the subject you required." "Ah yes, wonderful, thank you darling." the way she talked, it was like as if we were at an elementary school. The most bizarre, and freakish elementary school in the entire world. "Omega, say hi dear, where are your manners?" she sharply pulled on a metal chain in her hands, and a boy, probably no older than me, dragged into view. "h-hello." he managed, coughing up blood. The sight was enough to freak me out. "that's more like it. Take Claire and Omega back to their cells." she handed the unconscious girl and the chained boy to the female Eraser.

I saw a chance and I took it. I kicked as hard as I could to my captor's one weak spot we men all shared. Between the legs. He howled and dropped to the floor, rolling around screaming. I was free to sprint- and I actually did, but after three steps, I couldn't go on, I just fell. I couldn't help it, my legs weren't strong enough to support me from all the beatings back at our cell.

The professor laughed. "I see this one has some spirit! It'll be fun to slice this one." "why you little-!" the Eraser on the ground limped towards me, preparing to rip my head off. "stop." the one word was enough to hold back the Eraser. "you were given orders I believe, Rabie." he paled. "y-yes. Of course master." he and his pals quickly ran away with the two 'experiments', leaving me alone with the professor. Her cold fury vanished just as fast as it had came.

"well now, let's get started shall we?" no let's not. I thought hopelessly. "oh, my, where's your spirit darling?" she smiled as she roughly held me up. I blinked. What the heck? Did she just-? "read your mind? Yes of course." she laughed at my completely nonplussed expression. Still laughing maniacally, she dragged me in to her lab, and yes, I was scared. I was so scared, in fact, now I believed Angel wasn't a complete idiot for pissing herself. She knew what was going to happen to her... Except I'm just going to be the first.

And it didn't look like it would be much fun.

Well life just sucks sometimes doesn't it? "oh no dear. This is a gift, a rare chance that only selected individuals get." the mind reading freak of a scientist was still rambling. Another blindly burst of pain shot through my right arm. "watch your words honey, cuz in a few hours, well, let's just say I won't be a freak- not when compared to you." screw you. Another violent slash. "pity you can't scream, I'd love to hear your voice yell until it cracks, such a lovely sound by the way, the voice of a dying young man." this woman was completely whacko. Like, no joke.

She sighed, but didn't cut me open this time. "that's because I'm ready for your 'treatment'" she said softly, her voice excited as if I was a Christmas gift under a tree. It made my skin crawl. How did I end up here with this psychotic excuse of a human? "and you know what? Because of your mouth, I think I'll teach you a lesson" the tape that had been holding my mouth shut was torn off. And yeah, it hurt, but nothing like the injuries I obtained today. "oh trust me, this 'treatment' will leave you begging for me to stop. Which I won't by the way- even if you die during the process. Which is actually-" I could hear her shuffling through her notes. "93 percent likely to happen" I could just imagine her sick grin spreading across her face like a toad's. "tsk tsk. Ready my dear?" "screw you. When I get out of here, the entire police will-"

My words were drained in an animalistic scream that I never knew I could make. The pain was unbelievable. It was like my entire body was on fire- slowly burning it's way to my most inner organs. "yesss feels nice doesn't it?" she yelled over my screams, apparently overjoyed. "oh and did I tell you? This is WITH antiseptic drugs. Soon even they will stop working because-" I heard something fall, a shattering of a glass bottle perhaps. "that was the last of my narcotics."

How long had time passed? Hours? Days? Weeks? The pain never left me, it was always there, always greatening by the passing second. From an inferno to a thousand stabs of needles, I could clearly imagine my body being mutilated. But I couldn't even scream anymore, I could barely think. Thank god that I had this, whatever I had, covering my eyes, cuz otherwise I probably would have had to actually SEE the crazy professor tear me apart. "oh that's not a problem." she said gleefully. And just as she started to insert another tube down my throat, she leaned over, and tore away my blindfold.

"there, isn't it lovely?" the image before me was more than I could take. My eyes rolled up into my skull, but still the vivid image wanted to make me throw up. Except I had nothing to puke since I hadn't eaten anything for the last week or so. "yes, pretty, I know." she smiled as is she carefully pushed in another injection with the needle size of a drill. When had I started whimpering like a puppy? Or beg through my cracked voice for her to stop? Better yet, fir her to just kill me?

"but the fun's just getting started!" she yelled maniacally, cutting me open with a medical knife, literally, as blood sprayed everywhere- my blood. I wish I could just black out, or just die right there. Anything to stop the pain.

"but I told you I'd never stop! Silly boy." she cackled as my eyes rolled up into their sockets once again, my body jerking helplessly as the steel bindings held me down. This must be hell. "oh no dear, it's much worse than that!" she replied joyfully, blood spraying into her face while I continued to scream in silence.


	10. Chapter 9

_**Don't have much to say for this chapter, except to Carrie who said that my fanfic was a little "perverted". I hope your saying that it's a little different from how Patterson writes, and not that this is sexually perverted cuz if so... I have no idea why you'd say that lol xD. One more thing though, I might be wrong, but isn't fanfiction about writing stuff in your own style but with characters from the original series? But thanks for your criticism Carrie, it's actually the first constructive critisicsm I've received, and of course, I thank you for taking your time to read and review. **_

_**And to the rest of my readers- enjoy~ :D**_

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><p>Chapter 9<p>

ANGEL

Harou was dead. That's what I've been telling myself for the last couple hours, but I just couldn't seem to process the fact that he's... Gone. The two newcomers were at the far side of the cell, obviously not knowing how to react, but honestly, I think I've had enough. I'm as close to finding the flock as when I was first captured at that sewer-explosion incident. Now, the one friend who I could trust... was dead. Betraying Max for leadership, now I virtually led a normal boy to his death. How could I live on? I pulled my legs closer to me, holding my head in my shaking hands.

Get over it Angel. You know what Max would say. He's gone, and he wanted you to be safe- don't let his actions go to waste. A part of me said softly, but with determination, and I knew it was right; I should forget about Harou. I needed to find the flock. That was my to priority.

... But I still couldn't move. The cold gray walls seemed to cave in towards me, pressing me from all sides so that I couldn't breathe. I shook my head. Stay strong, got to stay strong Angel. I told myself.

That's how I ended up muttering, "he's dead. He's dead. He's dead." over and over again. Because it was the truth. No matter how I despised myself, how much I hated the whitecoats, how much I hated the WORLD- I couldn't do anything about it. But at the same time, he would be disappointed to see me giving up on my life like this. For the brief time I've met him, he and Max shared a trait. They were both fighting spirits, they would never give up like me. I needed to move on.

"he's dead." I half sobbed, tears quietly rolling down my cheeks. "he's dead and he's not going to come back. He's-" the cell door abruptly opened, and something was thrown in. It was a body of a boy, dressed in a clean white t shirt with matching pants that of a patient in a hospital.

It was Harou.

"not dead!" I choked on my own words, quickly running to his side. Yup. It was him, no doubt about it. I quickly placed m hand on his chest. He was alive, thank god. But he was pale as a ghost, and his hands and feet were a nasty shade of purple, as if he had been tied to a post for too long. But what grabbed my attention was the top of his head.

In the midst of the black frenzy of hairs of his, were two large, triangular and... Well, cat-like EARS. they were covered with actual FUR which were a dark shade of brown, almost the exact color as his hair. They actually looked pretty cute on him, like as if he was wearing one of those cat ear headbands for Halloween or something, I wanted to touch them to see how they felt like...

They were incredibly soft and.. Fluffy. "what on earth are you doing?" Omega's incredulous voice sprang out of the silence. "eek!" his sudden voice surprised me so that I accidentally squeezed on Harou's new ears a little too tightly. "ow!" We all turned around to see Harou complaining. "that freaking hurts!" he croaked, his eyes slowly flickering open. "An...gel?" "Harou!" "w-what are you doing?" he managed in a hoarse voice. "er..." "checking to see if you're alive probably." Omega said sarcastically. "and who're you guys?" he tried to sit up, but his body must still be hurt after the transformation, cuz he yelped in pain and immediately stopped trying. Sweat already rolling down his face from that simple effort. "stay still! You need to relax-" he laughed. It came out more of a soft chuckle though. For some reason, his voice had gone completely hoarse and cracked. "yeah I figured."

As I quietly examined his face, taking in every feature of the person who I had thought was dead a few minutes ago, I realized the ears weren't the only things that had changed.

"so... I guess I have wings now huh?" he grinned. "can't wait to try them out" I rolled my eyes. "seriously Harou? You're not troubled that now you're a... Mutant?" he shrugged. "not really." I sighed gratefully. Thanking him quietly for being so carefree about it. "I mean, I can freaking FLY anywhere I want to go now." I cracked a small smile of my own at his child like excitement. And I'm supposed to be a seven year old.

But then something clicked. "wait... Er, Harou?" Harou raised a brow, apparently speaking really must take a lot out of him right now. "you're sure you're 2 percent avian?" judging from his puzzled eyes, I guess not. "y-you haven't looked in a mirror have you?" "no... Why?" I bit my lip. Oh god. He thought he was an avian hybrid just like me! But in reality, he was this... Kitty boy! How am I supposed to explain to him?

"Um..." "here, I have a mirror." Claire handed me one from her pocket. Huh? That was weird. I didn't know white coats had been so kind to as let their experiments keep mirrors. "Harou, I'm so sorry." I repeated for what seemed like the umpteenth time.

HAROU

I immediately knew something was wrong when she held the mirror over my face. "what. The. FUDGE happened?" I nearly screamed. "I'm so sorry." I was speechless. "that's... Me?" Angel nodded sadly. "get over it, it's not like you got tentacles stretching out of your noes." The boy with the pal blond hair rolled his eyes." "Omega! Shut up will you?" the girl smacked his head, pretty hard. "ow! Why? What did I do now?" "you're such a-" I tuned them out. Mindless quibbling can wait. Studying my new messed up face was more important.

Okay, so I've got... Brown, furry Cat ears on the top of my head. My normal human ears were no where to be seen. That alone was enough to make me flipping crazy, but what was worse, was that I didn't look like myself anymore. My eyes, nose, lips, everything seemed so much more... Feminine like.

I was still a boy, but I could easily pass for... Well, a girl (if you minus the boobs) You know how in those Japanese anime, there are those 'pretty-boy' characters? Yeah. I looked pretty close to that. "goddammit." I wanted to bang my head on the wall. "I'm sorry about the ears Harou-" "It's not the ears Angel. My whole face just got estrogen-ified." I groaned. She blinked, as if confused. "estrogen... Ified?" she suddenly bursted out laughing. "Not funny." I muttered, my face instantly heating up. "that's why you were angry? Cuz you look pretty?" "boys and pretty doesn't mix." I said stubbornly. "well, I think your cuter this way anyway." she smirked. I wanted to kill myself. "gee thanks." my voice dripping with sarcasm. "but seriously, you're not worried about your um... Ears?" I sighed. "it's sucks, but I can probably hide them with a hat." my voice cracked again at the last word, and after a round of violent coughs, I felt a rush of fatigue hit me out of nowhere. Angel noticed. "sleep, you need to rest Harou. I'll watch over so they don't take you again." "thanks." my words were already slurred as I slumped back in to sleep.

I woke with a surprised yelp when I felt something squeeze my ears. "sorry! I just wanted to see how it felt like!" it was that girl from yesterday. "wow that actually hurts... A lot." I muttered, rubbing my... Ears. "sorry." she apologized. Angel was sprawled right next to me, snoring. So much for watching over me. "Try not to wake her up, she just fell asleep right now." "yeah..." "so you're okay now? You slept for like, two whole days straight!" my eyes widened. "for real?" "yeah, I know because Omega there told me what day it is today when he got taken for... Stuff." Omega was asleep, his back slumped against the back wall, arms folded.

I slowly tried to get up. My body was still aching all over as if I got beaten with a sledge hammer, but it was noticeably much easier than before. "whoa whoa! Angel's going to kill me if you overwork yourself!" "don't worry, I'm fine now." I was standing now, in my new white shirt and shorts, I felt even more like a lab rat. Something soft brushed against my legs.

I looked down, and nearly fainted. "wow. Nice tail." she said pointing at the thing sprouting from my behind. It was the same color as my ears, but the fact that I had a-a tail, it was just so disturbing. I found out I could move it, like a fifth limb, and it felt SO weird. After a moment of both of us staring at my tail, she suddenly started. "oh! Right, I forgot to introduce myself. I'm Claire, and that's Omega. We were in this cell before you two came in. Nice to meet you." "Harou. So you've been here for how long?" "oh I don't know, about two or three years?" YEARS? She laughed at my shocked face. "Omega was kept inside the School for his entire life. He was literally born and raised here." wow, I felt sorry for that guy.

"he was a real douche when I first met him. Ranting about how 'perfect' he was and ordering me around, but he gradually came to acting normal... Well, sort of at least." she looked at the sleeping blonde affectionately. Ho, look who's giving the doe eyes! Lol. I chuckled. "what?" she pouted, crossing her arms in front of her. "nothing." I said quickly. "haven't you guys considered escaping?" she raised a brow. "duh? Of course we have! But it's impossible, we tried countless times, but the Rabies are just way too fast, maybe if we fight them when we're not exhausted by examinations and stuff, but otherwise we can't even get out of the cell." "Rabies?" "they're these improved version of Erasers, and they're wicked strong too, you don't want to fight a Rabie one on one." she warned. "... right." I didn't need to be told twice. The last Eraser that pulverized me must've been a Rabie, I realized. No wonder his punches hurt so bad.

But there was something else I realized; my senses were really hyped up right now. Like, I could hear every intake of breath from all three other mutants inside the cell, my eyes were able to take in every single detail although it wad pretty dark inside and the striking scent of coughurinecough was enough to water my eyes a little bit- but none of the others seemed to be bothered by it. "and don't try to touch the bars- there's electric currents flowing in them." she warned. "that sucks." she nodded. "last time Omega tried he literally flew to the wall." I winced. Ouch. She laughed. "yeah, that's back when he was still trying to boss me around."

"wait, if you're inside this cell, I guess you're like... Me?" she nodded. "sort of, I AM a mutant if thats what you're asking. But I'm not half kitten." wow a kitten? Gee. I scowled. "hey it's okay, you look pretty cute with those ears." she laughed at my 'seriously?' face. "So what are you then? Half..." I trailed off, cuz she didn't have anything abnormal sticking out from her body. "I'm a hundred percent human." she smirked. "but I was, I guess, 'modified' to do this." she held out her hand as if to say 'stop right there!' and then-

"whoa!" a bright, transparent, slightly violet wall of light appeared out of nowhere. "I can hold these up to thirty two minutes max. She withdrew her powers. "that's... Pretty cool." I said. She grinned. "as far as I know, they can't be penetrated, the hardest thing I contained was a missile." my jaw dropped. "then why not just use that to keep away the Erasers and Rabies?" "I can't move the force filed itself, and they just wait till I'm exhausted, they just beat me up for punishment. It's really no use." she sighed. "oh..." "believe me, I tried and I still have the marks for it." she winced, rubbing her back unconsciously.

"Omega's modified to be all around... Well, perfect." she whispered the last word. "don't tell Omega though, it'll get to his head." I raised a brow. "he doesn't have any extraordinary powers, but he's super strong and super fast, plus his brain's like a calculator. Super sight, hearing etc etc." she waved her hand dissmissively. "wow." I gaped at the sleeping guy. "so why doesn't he just escape if he's so perfect?" "well.." she fiddled with her finger. "he probably can if he wanted to, but when we last tried, I couldn't keep up with him, and we got caught. His punishment was... Pretty scary, but he says won't escape without me. He says that he doesn't really care whether he stays here or not." she blushed. "that's nice of him." she nodded. "yeah.."

Angel stretched her arms, yawning loudly. "Claire is Harou okay-" she noticed me standing, and sprang up to her feet. "Harou! Are you okay now? You should still sit down-" "I'm fine Angel. I needed to stretch myself." her eyes bulged. I noticed what she was looking at. "I know, I have a freaking tail. Just my luck huh? Someone gets to fly around with their wings and I get stuck with a useless tail." Angel smiled sheepishly. "you look pretty cute though." I rolled my eyes. "thanks for watching over him Claire." she thanked her. "plus he's not a complete douchebag like Omega was." Angel laughed.

"Wow I'm pretty much starving though." Angel said after a while, rubbing her tummy. "same." I agreed, remembering that I didn't have anything to eat for about three days at least. "breakfast should be here in a while." Claire said, grimacing. "why the face though?" I asked. "trust me, the only food worth eating in this place is the stuff you get for rewards." just then, a gruff looking guy with a sneering face stomped by with a worn out cart full of trays.

He didn't say anything but slid four trays across the bar, and I have to say. I could probably cook something better than this. "are we seriously supposed to eat this?" I gaped as I looked at the grayish brown looking soup. Claire shrugged. "if you think you can survive a day without it, don't. But I'd eat up rather than die." Angel silently picked up her spoon and began to eat, as if she was used to this stuff. So did Claire. It could be that bad then, right? "ugh." I pulled a face as I took a first sip. It tasted like... rubbery water (does that even make sense?). FML.


End file.
